Love's Betrayal
by Sui Megami
Summary: A village priestess falls in love with a half man, and vise-versa. They agree to life their lives together... but one false move leads to a betrayal which will torture both for eternity. Complete IYxKI
1. The Half Man

Kittychan: Hi all! This is my very first Inu-Yasha fic, so I wanted to do this prequel to the series!  
  
Hinochan: Wheee! Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha!!  
  
Kittychan: Hinochan? Are you okay?  
  
Hinochan: No! I was just getting ready to make Inu-Yasha TOUCH THE STOVE!!!  
  
Inu-Yasha: 'leans over to Kittychan' what on earth is she talking about?  
  
Kittychan: No idea, but go with it. 'hops over to Hinochan who is running in circles'  
  
Hinochan: Yay! Touch the Stove has returned!  
  
Kittychan: Whee! Oh! Gess what evweebody! I don't own any of the Inu- Yasha characters... except Kenshi! 'giggles weirdly, stares off into space, grabbs her own ears abnd rubs them, still staring off into space' 'twitch twitch' Tweeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaak! Tweeeeaaaaaaak!!  
  
Inu-Yasha: You'd better read the story before the insanity gets to you too.

* * *

The creature leapt stealthily from tree to tree, not wanting to risk being seen or caught. This mission was far too important for hindrances such as these. It was impossible to tell if he was human or animal, but at first glance, he didn't look like someone you would want to meet alone in the dark.  
  
He landed in a thick cluster of bushes and crouched low, shielding his bright eyes from the sun, staring intently at the shrine he knew to hold the Sacred Shikon Jewel. He silently surveyed the scene making sure that no witnesses were near. Ever sniffing for the scent of any being, human or not. Nothing was on the wind as of now, and the creature made ready to launch himself at the unprotected building.  
  
At least, it seemed unprotected.  
  
He stopped as the scent of a human caught his sensitive nose. He looked to the edge of the small shrine as the sound of light and graceful footsteps on the soft grass reached his ears. They twitched a bit as a young girl in her late teens, perhaps a year or two younger than him, entered his line of sight. She was wearing long flowing robes that caught the wind and billowed with each step she took, making her look even more like an apparition than her pale skin suggested. By her scent, he knew she was human, but had he not his acute sense of smell, he would have guessed otherwise.  
  
He was somewhat in awe at her appearance, but it wasn't enough to deter him from the mission he was on._I mustn't allow myself to be distracted. This mission is too important_! He crouched lower, allowing energy to build up in his ankles and callused feet, ready to attack. His energy drained out of his legs when another scent caught his nose. His eyes wandered to the sky as the sound of a crow echoed all around him. The black bird streaked across the sky toward the girl and the shrine. It's eyes glowed red, an obvious sign that it was not mortal.  
  
The boy looked back to the girl who was walking away from where the crow was launching its attack. She suddenly stopped, causing him to only wonder farther as to what she was doing. She stood there, motionless except for putting her right hand on her left shoulder and waiting. Before he could realize what had happened, she had spun around, fitted the arrow into her bow, and let it impale itself into the birds neck. He cringed slightly as the crow dropped from the sky and landed about twenty feet in front of the girl, about the same distance from him. He stared at the arrow for a long moment, wondering about it's odd phosphorescence. It glowed with a gentle lavender light that radiated a power of its own. Apparently this was no ordinary girl.  
  
_She's going to be tough to get by. But... I know I can do it. But not now. I have to ready myself if I am to take her on._ He turned back to the girl, only to find her looking straight at the crow. She casually walked up to it and preceded to unceremoniously kick it straight into the bushes, right where he was sitting. It smacked him head on in the face before plopping limply to the ground. He looked at it a bit nervously, imagining the mangled corpse was his own. Yes, he'd definitely have to work to get that jewel. But not now. He would gather his strength and return later. He got up and turned to run. 

The girl kicked the wretched crow from the shrine's property. The beast. She watched as the crow flew into the bushes, yet heard it hit something solid. She stared at the spot for a while before seeing a wisp of red and white disappear into the darkness of the forest. She shrugged it off, but kept her guard up as she continued her watch.  
  
"Mistress Kikyo!" cried a man as he ran up to the shrine. The tall slender girl turned and squinted in the falling evening light to see him. "You may rest now. We will take it from here." He motioned to himself and around ten other men who came up behind him.  
  
"Thank you Kenshi-kun. I will see you later on." Kikyo bowed a greeting and left for her house. She arrived at the small hut and entered through the cloth doorway.  
  
"Tosan! Kasaan! Kaede! I'm back!" she called wearily, yet happily into the small house.  
  
"Ah. Kikyo, my daughter. Have ye been relieved?" asked her aged father as he entered the main room.  
  
"Yes. I will be home later. I am going to meditate for now. I will see you soon." Kikyo kissed her father before putting her bow and arrows away and heading out once again.

Kikyo wandered about, having a final destination yet not a set path. She finally reached the tree that she had always stayed in. Every day, she would come here to think, and it was her one place of refuge. However, today was different. There was someone in her tree! She couldn't make out the details of their body, only that they were sleeping. She silently scaled the tree and reached the thick branch the newcomer was resting on. She gained her balance and carefully inched her way toward the slumbering form. Kikyo could now tell clearly that it was a male, apparently human. He had long silver hair, almost reaching to his hips. He wore a long, flowing baggy robe. It might have been red, but in the darkness she couldn't tell for certain. She made her way closer, balancing on what little of the branch he was not occupying. She could see that he was lazily flung over the branch, his hair half covering his head.  
  
The moonlight struck his youthful face, causing it to almost to glow. _I wonder who this stranger is?_ she thought, allowing herself to gaze at his face for a moment. _Whoever he is, he is certainly good-looking._ Kikyo cautiously nudged the boy with her foot...  
  
And he sprang up into a crouching position, instantly alert. His orange eyes, strangely attentive, glared at her maliciously, and a deep canine growl issued from his throat. Then a strange change came over his face. The boy seemed to already know Kikyo, for he appeared to lose some of his oddly animalistic qualities. For a moment their eyes locked, and they held each other's gaze. Then he sprang down with inhuman agility and was gone before Kikyo could bat an eye.  
  
Kikyo jumped down after him. "Wait!" she called after the boy, but to no avail. "I would like speak with you! Please?" After standing there motionless for several minutes, she finally realized that he was not coming back. Kikyo sighed and bent her steps homeward. She'd never be able to get any meditating done with this good-looking stranger on her mind. 

Kikyo's younger sister Kaede was waiting to greet her as she entered her house. "I thought you were meditating, Kikyo-san," the girl said.  
  
"I was, Kaede, but something happened that is distracting me to no end. Do you think you can help me?" Kikyo asked her.  
  
"What is this thing you speak of, Onesan? I will be more than happy to help ye, if indeed I am able," responded Kaede.  
  
"You know much about identifying specific demons, little sister. In fact, you have made a special study of the subject, have you not?"  
  
"Yes, it is true. I am able to identify many demons now by only their description."  
  
"Good. What do you know, then, of a demon whose shape is that of a man, but has the ears, fangs, claws, and instincts of an animal?"  
  
Kaede's face grew puzzled. "That sounds like no demon I have ever heard of, Sister. He has the body of a man, and also the behaviors of an animal, you say?"  
  
Kikyo nodded eagerly. "Yes, he walks upright like a person, but has greater speed and agility than any demon I have ever encountered."  
  
"Are you certain that it was in fact a demon?" Kaede wondered.  
  
"Do not question me, Kaede! I should hope that I would know a demon when I come in contact with it," Kikyo scolded angrily.  
  
Kaede immediately fell prostrate on the ground, cowering. "I beg your pardon, Kikyo-sama. I should not have doubted your skills. Please forgive me."  
  
"You are forgiven, sister. I, too, am sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. It's just that I am impatient to find out more about this new demon."  
  
"Well, it may not have been entirely a demon." The younger girl got up and ran to fetch one of her many scrolls. "Perhaps it was only half demon. A hybrid. I have read of such creatures. However, to the best of my knowledge, none actually exist outside of the words written on scrolls."  
  
"But if it was only half demon, what was the other half?" questioned the priestess Kikyo.  
  
"You said he had the shape of a man?"  
  
"Yes, Kaede."  
  
Kaede perused the scroll she held until she found the passage she was looking for. Then she looked up at Kikyo in surprise. "He may have been half human!"  
  
"Half human? Fascinating! Is there anything about these half-breeds in your scrolls, sister?" Kikyo demanded.  
  
"Only that none have existed outside of tales." She read farther, then her head shot up. "Kikyo! There is documentation that one of these half human, half demon beings actually lived!"  
  
"Really? What is there about him?"  
  
"Well, his mother was a human and his father was a dog demon. Both were very powerful. They were both killed soon after the birth of this hybrid, and by all accounts so was the child. Onesan, there is no possible way that you could have seen this creature. He was the only one of his kind, and he died with his parents."  
  
"But I am absolutely sure that I saw him," Kikyo insisted. Then she let out a deep sigh. "Well, does it say what name his parents gave him?"  
  
"Yes, but I see no point. He is not the being you saw, Kikyo. He couldn't be."  
  
Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Just indulge me, sister. What was this half-demon's name?"  
  
Kaede gave a defeated sigh. "It says here that his name was Inu-Yasha."  
  
Kikyo's eyes assumed a thoughtful expression. "Hmm. Dog demon. Interesting name. Reflecting exactly what he is. Well, almost. An intriguing name." She smiled. "And a fitting name indeed." She turned to Kaede, her eyes blazing. "Sister, I am going to prove that this Inu-Yasha does exist, and that he was the person in the tree!"

A week had gone by, and still Kikyo had seen neither hide nor hair of Inu- Yasha. Kaede still held firm to her belief that Kikyo's eyes had been playing tricks on her. Kikyo was determined to find him and prove to her that she knew what she was talking about. Rumor had spread throughout the village that there was supposedly a demon on the loose. People were more wary about where they allowed the children. However Kikyo didn't see a reason to all this. She had only seen him one and a half times (the glimpse she had at his back doesn't count as a full sighting), and they were all scared to death about it. She was even beginning to doubt that she had actually seen a half demon, but she had definitely seen something rare. However, this doubt didn't deter her from continuing her search.  
  
Kikyo wandered about the woods. She was in some way searching for this "Inu-Yasha". Her mind was wandering, but was still somewhat focused on the hybrid. Her thoughts were interrupted by some sound coming from the clearing up ahead. She cautiously inched her way over to the clearing, not bothering to reach for her bow and arrows. She crouched low in the bushes and just as she'd hoped, there was this "figment of her imagination". Inu- Yasha was jumping, and tumbling all around the clearing. He slashed the air with his razor sharp claws and a pointed stick she assumed was a substitute for a sword. It wasn't until he turned in her direction that she got a good look at him. Indeed his shiny silver hair reached to his hips and two small white dog ears peeked out from behind his bangs on the top of his head. His keen orange eyes narrowed at an invisible opponent and his fangs bared to go with the familiar deep canine growl that was constantly emitting from his throat. He was certainly well built, Kikyo could tell that even though he wore very baggy robes, and no shoes were worn on his feet. His grip on the stick was frightening in itself. His strong hands gripped the stick almost to the point of crushing it. The claws that tipped his fingers were making indentations in the bark.  
  
Kikyo eyed him in awe. She had seen many demons in the past, but none like him. The demons she had met before were always out of control with their desire for the jewel, raged and vengeful. But Inu-Yasha was controlled and though he had a frown on his face, it was one more of concentration than of anger. Kikyo was distracted enough that she didn't notice the small creature crawling onto her hand. She eventually noticed the tickling sensation and looked down to find a spider slowly crawling onto her hand. She picked up her hand and swept it away then turned back to the half- breed. She had to suppress a gasp when she found him looking straight at the bush she was hiding in. The pointed stick was aimed directly at her. He knew she was there.  
  
He approached the bushes with almost a cat-like curiosity, yet the angry air of an enraged canine. He slowly, yet swiftly, slipped the sharp stick into the bushes, catching Kikyo right under the chin. Close enough to touch, but not enough to cut her. He put pressure on the bottom of her chin, forcing her to stand up or get hurt. Kikyo stood up with her hands slightly raised in a somewhat submissive way. As soon as she was in plain view of the creature, he narrowed his eyes a bit. He said nothing, but another low growl was heard. Apparently he was trying to intimidate her.  
  
Kikyo found herself almost speechless, she had never been in this situation before, but she soon gathered her scattered wits, and did her best to say something, anything. "I just happened to walk by and heard you and I just wanted to see who you were. I mean you no harm." She answered, somewhat slowly, not sure of what his reaction would be. Inu-Yasha still did and said nothing. He stood there, still as a statue, holding the stick to her neck. The growling ceased, but the angry look on his face remained. Kikyo was feeling rather awkward at the moment and tried again to see if he would answer. "Inu-Yasha, I am simply curious about you and what I've heard. You have no need to fear me. I merely have heard of you, and wanted to prove to my own eyes that you existed." Inu-Yasha seemed to be taken aback when she mentioned his name, however, he still made no effort to respond verbally. Kikyo began to doubt if he could speak plain Japanese. "Can you speak? Do you understand what I'm saying?" she asked slowly, as if she were speaking to a child.  
  
_Good grief!!_ Inu-Yasha turned and ran from the spot, disappearing before the stick even hit the ground. Kikyo looked after him and sighed a bit.  
  
"Wait until Kaede hears about this! He does exist. She'll never believe it, but I can at least tell her that I saw him plain as day!" With this new invigoration filling her body, she took off in the direction of home.

* * *

Hinochan: 'tweaking Inu-Yasha's ears' Hi! How are yoo? Did yoo like the first chapter? Well, stay tuned because many more are to come.  
  
Kittychan: Tweeeeeaaaaaak! Tweeeeeaaaaak!!  
  
Inu-Yasha: 'pushes Hinochan out of the way and looks to the ceiling' Take me now, Lord! 

Read and Review!!! :P


	2. The New Moon

Hinochan & Kittychan: 'singing way off key' Hark, the herald angels sing, GORY TO THE NEW BORN KING!!!  
  
Inu-Yasha: 'Holding his ears and wincing' TT  
  
Hinochan & Kittychan: ' singing to the above song' Weeee do not ooooown any of the INUYAHSA CHARACTERS! All except for Kenshi-kuuun are property of Sunrise.  
  
Inu-Yasha: 'twitch twitch' I'd go with Kagome if someone would just PLEASE, GET ME OUTTA HERE!!

* * *

"Kaede!! Kaede!! I saw him! I saw Inu-Yasha again!" cried Kikyo as she burst into the house.  
  
Kaede slipped out of her parents bedroom and shushed her sister quietly. "Sister Kikyo, calm down and quiet yourself some. Tosan is sleeping. Now, let us go for a walk and ye can tell me everything. Is this once again about that half demon?" she asked quietly. Apparently she hadn't understood completely what her elder sister had been yelling so excitedly about.  
  
"I am sorry, sister, but I can hardly contain my excitement. I have seen this Inu-Yasha a third time!" she cried happily, yet as quietly as her excitement would allow.  
  
"I am not too sure about this. Come. We shall walk, and ye may tell me everything. Kasaan went to search for fruits and tend to the grave sites, so she should be back after nightfall."  
  
The two girls left the house and strolled about the forest, never straying more than two miles from the village. Along the way, Kikyo told her younger sister everything that she had seen and what Inu-Yasha's responses had been to what she had done. Kaede's face grew more thoughtful as each detail was relayed to her. As soon as Kikyo finished, Kaede thought for a moment before speaking.  
  
"Well, I'm not too sure. This half demon has been proven to be dead. How can he still live?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
Kikyo studied her disbelieving face before answering. "Well, he apparently not only lives, but his appearance is that of one with my years. He was young and sprightly. I am sure of what I saw."  
  
Kaede smiled and shook her head. "Well, sister Kikyo, I have to say that I will not be able to believe ye unless I see him for myself. Now I must return to the house. I have much work to be done. You should return to your post. Your guard begins when the sun sets. So go, and I will see ye tomorrow." Kaede laughed lightly and turned toward home.  
  
Kikyo smiled and headed toward the shrine. All the way there, she thought about the hybrid. _Can he talk? He didn't seem to be able to. However, he did seem to have an understanding of what I was saying._ As she continued on, the sky began to darken as evening fell and Kikyo looked up to the moonless sky. _It is a dark night tonight. Many demons will be on the hunt. I must be alert._ Kikyo reached the shrine as the last rays of light disappeared over the horizon.  
  
She stood guard for a few hours, nothing out of the ordinary was happening, so she sat to rest. She looked around the forest, dreaming awake that Inu- Yasha would appear and actually talk to her. _Only in your dreams, Kikyo._ She thought, laughing in spite of herself. She was about to get up and move on when a flash in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She stood and looked over to see a figure crouched low in the brush. She readied an arrow and drew the string loosely back as the figure launched at the shrine. She fired an arrow straight at him, managing to catch him by the sleeve of his robe. Out of instinct, she fired five more arrows in quick succession, pinning the demon to a tree by his clothes. She slowly approached him, a last finishing arrow fitted to her bow.  
  
She walked up to it as it tried to grab an arrow that had pierced its arm with its teeth. She could faintly recognize the figure by its shimmering silver hair and red robes that even then seemed to show off its strong body. To make sure, she put her arrow away and put the bow to the underside of his chin. She pulled on it, forcing him to look at her, his orange eyes reflecting a light that didn't seem present. His eyes seemed darker now than before, Kikyo shook it off and preceded to speak.  
  
"What are you doing here, Inu-Yasha?" she questioned, not taking the pressure off the bow and not really expecting him to answer. But to Kikyo's surprise, he did.  
  
"I'm performing a sacred dance ritual, what does it look like I'm doing?" he asked sarcastically, jerking his head to the side, so her bow was not holding his face.  
  
Kikyo was taken aback by his voice. Most demons had a harsh rough voice that reflected the evil inside them. But his was a deep rich voice that she had never heard from a demon before, and one of the most warm human voices she had ever heard. There was warmth even in the sarcastically spoken words. She finally pushed the thought of his voice to the side and asked the question that was pounding in her head. "You can talk?"  
  
"No, I'm a mute. You're not actually hearing anything I'm saying. You're imagining it. Of course I can talk!" he sneered. He certainly made no secret of his opinions about things. A very sarcastic creature indeed.  
  
Kikyo threw him a somewhat annoyed glare before suddenly getting an idea. "Wait here! I'll go get my sister. She'll know what to do about your arm. Plus, now I can prove that I'm not going crazy!" And before Inu-Yasha could protest, she had darted off toward the village.  
  
"Kaede! Kaede, I've got him! He's pinned to a tree by the shrine! Come on, you're coming with me, one of my arrows pierced his arm and he needs your skills to heal the wound." Kikyo exulted as she ran into the hut.  
  
"You've got whom, sister Kikyo?" wondered a puzzled Kaede. "Who did you pin to a tree and pierce with one of your arrows? What do you mean? Now calm down and tell me who you're talking about."  
  
"Inu-Yasha, of course!" Kikyo cried happily. "I caught him trying to steal the Sacred Shikon Jewel!"  
  
"You've caught Inu-Yasha?" Kaede's eyes grew wide. "You really have him captured?"  
  
"Yes, sister! Now come with me, I'm going to prove to you once and for all that he really exists." Kikyo grabbed her sister's hand and practically dragged her out the door.  
  
Kenshi looked out the door as Mistress Kikyo darted down the street in the direction of her hut. _What is she doing off of her post?_ He wondered. _What was that she was saying? She had him or something._ He gasped. _She must mean the demon that is lurking about! We must aid her in the apprehension of this creature!  
_  
Kenshi ran out of the house and rounded up about seven of the village men. They grabbed what few weapons they had, sticks, clubs and a few spears, and headed for the shrine.  
  
Inu-Yasha tried to move the arrow by reaching it with his teeth, but to no avail. The arrow stuck fast. _K'so! How could I have let myself be caught by this weak mortal?! And a girl at that!!_ He struggled against the arrows, but they wouldn't budge, they held him fast to the tree. _What's going on with these arrows! They should be like twigs to break out of, even if they did have a small spell on them!  
_  
Inu-Yasha looked angrily up at the sky. No matter how angry he got, there was not one time when the beautiful moon could not quell his anger. He looked to the sky to find only a dark blue canvas. The moon was not visible. _NO! The new moon!! How could I have forgotten?! Now of all times!!  
_  
As if on cue, Inu-Yasha saw the forms of many people running toward him. Men, by the sound of their gruff voices. He watched as they approached, feeling weaker every second. They reached the clearing where the shrine was and looked around. They seemed to be looking for something. They continued on until one of the younger men spotted him. He pointed at the tree he was stuck to and the group slowly made their way over to him. Inu-Yasha looked up at them, some confusion in his eyes.  
  
"So, you're the big bad demon, eh?" one asked snidely. "Not so tough now that you're at the mercy of our fury, instead of the other way around. Now prepare to feel the anger of this village toward demons!"  
  
With that speech made, the group began to hit and kick. Inu-Yasha shrank back as far as he could under the weight of the assault, but he was stuck. He'd just have to wait until they got tired of hurting him. He felt a sharp edge run across the top of his forehead, but he was not going to give them the satisfaction of hearing him howl in pain. Never. He squinted as the blood from his cut trickled down into his right eye, but shook it away by shaking his head slightly and face another bunch of strikes. A hard solid fist came into painful contact with his face, and soon Inu-Yasha was tasting the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. More punches and kicks were dealt to his gut than he preferred to count. Soon, the hits stopped for a brief moment as something startled the group. He heard some whispers among the group as to what was happening.  
  
"Why is his hair changing color?" "What is happening to his claws?" "Where did his demon dog ears go?"  
  
The one that seemed to be the leader walked up to him and roughly jerked his face up to look at him. "So, you think that your illusions can save you, do you? Think again, demon! Commence!" he yelled and once again the shower of blows resumed.  
  
Inu-Yasha took every hit, determined not to make a sound. However, now that he was entirely human, his will power was ebbing away at an incredible rate. A hard kick landed in his stomach and he was about to cry out, giving up, when a familiar feminine voice immediately stopped the assault.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU FOOLS?!" it shrieked, obviously enraged and worried at the same time.  
  
Everyone in the crowd turned and immediately fell to the ground knowing that they had gone against her will. "Mistress Kikyo!" they cried in unison.  
  
_Kikyo... so that's her name._ Thought Inu-Yasha as he felt his consciousness slipping away.  
  
Kikyo and Kaede gasped at the sight of Inu-Yasha hanging limply by the arrows, blood all over his visible skin. His eyes were half-open and his breathing was labored, but at least he was alive. Kikyo turned angrily to the group of cowering village men. "You have greatly displeased and dishonored me. Return to the village at once and ponder on what you have done!"  
  
In the blink of an eye, the men were on their feet and already running back toward the village. Kikyo reached out and grabbed one by the back of his cloak. "Kenshi?" she said, thin lipped.  
  
"Yes, Mistress Kikyo?" he asked, obviously nervous.  
  
"I have one job for you to do for me." She turned him to face the tree. "I want you to pull those arrows out and lower him to the ground...GENTLY!!" she added loudly at the end.  
  
"Yes, Kikyo-sama!" he ran over to the tree, but as soon as he got near it, Inu-Yasha narrowed his eyes and spat at him.  
  
Kikyo could hear his berely audible and weak words. "Don't come near me you yarou."  
  
Kenshi looked nervously at Kikyo. She walked up to the tree and physically moved Kenshi aside. "Very well, Inu-Yasha, I shall do it myself."  
  
Inu-Yasha sighed as she removed the arrows from his clothing. As more weight was taken off of the arrows, Kenshi caught him. Soon, Kikyo had removed all but one arrow, the one that had pierced his arm. Inu-Yasha realized that Kenshi was holding him and began to try to squirm out of his grasp. His mobility was limited, however, because of the arrow still stuck in his arm. "Inu-Yasha! Stay still!" She demanded harshly. Inu-Yasha begrudgingly obeyed, and stopped moving as Kikyo tried to work the arrow out of his arm. "Brace yourself, Inu-Yasha. This will hurt." She warned him. He simply snorted in response. Kikyo grabbed a hold of the arrow near the end in his arm and pulled a bit. Inu-Yasha winced painfully. Wow. I did not realize how painful these arrows were. She finally got a firm grip on it and began working it free. Inu-Yasha winced the entire time, still not willing to cry out. Kikyo gave it one final tug before it finally came out. Inu-Yasha pulled his injured arm close and jumped away from Kenshi. He landed on his unsteady feet, his body still beaten and bruised. He stumbled around for a few seconds trying to get his eyes to focus. Everything was swimming. He looked at Kikyo who was slowly walking toward him. He tried to get away, but his body wouldn't move. His eyes closed and he dropped to his knees, still clutching his badly bleeding arm. He stayed upright for a few seconds, but then gave up as he fell forward. The last thing he remembered was falling into someone instead of hitting the ground, then all was darkness.  
  
Kaede brought a wet cloth into the main room and put it to Inu-Yasha's forehead. She spoke after a while of sitting there next to Kikyo. "Are you sure this is he, Sister? He is mortal. That is plain to see. He is no demon."  
  
Kikyo sighed audibly. "I know that this is the one I spoke of, Kaede. He is the only one that I pinned to the tree with my arrows. His countenance has altered greatly, only I know not why. But I'm sure this is him."  
  
Kaede watched over him through the night while Kikyo went to the shrine to continue her watch. Kaede surveyed the bruises on his bare stomach before wrapping them. Kikyo returned in the small hours of the morning, long before the sun showed itself. Kikyo approached Inu-Yasha and surveyed him. The cut on his forehead was almost invisible, the bruise on his face was gone, and the puncture wound on his arm was healing nicely. The only thing that worried Kikyo still was the stomach injuries. She approached him and slowly unwrapped the bandages on his stomach to replace them. She put some herbs on the bruises and then left to get some fresh bandages.  
  
She stopped about halfway to think. _Why am I so adamant about helping him? He is half demon, after all._ She retrieved the bandages and started back toward the main room with them. _Maybe it's because I feel sorry for him. Judging by the way Kenshi and his group assaulted him like that, he is not very highly thought of._ She entered the main room and unraveled the bandages to wrap his wounds. She lifted him up into a sitting position and began to wrap his stomach. She was about half done when a groan was heard from the man. She quickly set him down and looked at him intently. He did not budge at all, so she resumed wrapping his stomach. Kikyo was in no way prepared for what happened next.  
  
Inu-Yasha slowly gained consciousness. He didn't remember much of what happened, only that he had turned human and he had been beaten. He was feeling a lot better than he had when he first got the injuries. It took a few seconds to open his eyes and realize where he was. It seemed that the girl, Kikyo, had her arms wrapped around his bare stomach with some type of odd white cloth in her hands. He wasted no time in roughly shoving her away. Kikyo seemed very worried about him, but she didn't try to approach him again. He tried to stand up, but collapsed on to his hands and knees, clutching his stomach. "What's happened? What am I doing here?" he asked weakly  
  
Kikyo held up her hands to communicate to him that he needed to calm down. "You shouldn't be moving! You were badly injured in your stomach. You need to keep still."  
  
Inu-Yasha slowly got to his feet, and stumbled a bit before catching himself on the wall. He looked out the window and seemed angry at the early morning sky. "You didn't explain why you brought me here! Where is here, anyway? Speak!"  
  
"You were badly injured for nothing you did wrong. I felt that it was only fair that I help to tend to your wounds." She said, lowering her , you created them in the first place," he grumbled quietly so that only he could hear. "You didn't seem so excited about caring for the mangled corpse of that demon crow about a week ago!" he exclaimed at her.  
  
Before Kikyo could respond, Kaede stirred from her place on the floor and stood up quickly, seeing that Inu-Yasha was awake. "Are you all right? What has happened, sister?"  
  
"He woke up while I was tending to his stomach. He is not pleased with us for bringing him here." Kikyo answered quietly, so that only Kaede could hear. As soon as the two looked back they saw that the man was removing the half-wrapped bandages from his stomach. They were about to tell him to put them back on when they saw that the bruises were no longer seen. He moved on and removed the bandage from his arm, revealing nothing but healthy skin. Soon, he removed all of the bandages from his body and picked up his cloak. Without a word he walked out the door.  
  
Kikyo and Kaede looked quizzically at each other before following him to see him standing out on the grass in front of the hut. "What are ye doing?" Kaede wondered aloud, slowly approaching Inu-Yasha. He 'hmphed' and looked at the brightening sky. The sun peeked out from behind the horizon, bathing the world around it in an array of missed morning light. Kikyo and Kaede were unprepared for what happened next.  
  
Even as they watched, a change began to overtake Inu-Yasha. His hair began to change color. Starting at the top, silver hair replaced the black like a sheet falling down his back. Two small ears seemed to grow upward from behind his bangs. His face became narrower and his eyes sleeker as well as turned from green to bright orange. His regular fingers lengthened and where fingernails were, claws grew and fangs appeared in his mouth. Kaede gasped quietly. He is Inu-Yasha! "So you are the demon Inu-Yasha I have heard of?" she inquired quietly.  
  
"When did you figure that out?" he snorted. He pulled his cloak over his bare chest and tied it. He prepared to jump into a nearby tree when Kaede stopped him.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, why must you go now? Your injuries have not had time to heal!" she cried, obviously worried.  
  
"Feh! Relax! Whether they've had time or not, they're healed! Now leave me alone!" with that said, he jumped into the tree and was gone in a matter of seconds.  
  
Kikyo turned authoritatively on Kaede. "Why is he still so distant to us even though we saved his life? Why did he look the way he did last night and yet turn back to the way he looked all the times I had seen him before? How did he heal so quickly? Sister, there must be some clue as to what has happened and who he really is!"  
  
Kaede pondered her sister's questions shortly, before turning and dashing back into the house, Kikyo on her heels. She took down a few of her scrolls and skimmed over them before searching another. Kikyo waited somewhat patiently, however, you could tell she was quickly losing her ability to stay still. Finally, Kaede stood up and held up one of her many scrolls. "I think I may have found a clue as to why he looked so different for only last night! It says here that even though the creature would have had an equal share of both human and demon blood, both sides would constantly try and take over the other, without the creature knowing. The demon half would mostly show itself in times of absolute rage. However, unlike a full blooded demon, a half-breed cannot transform its body into an animal. The human half is too weak to overtake the demon side, so the only time that the human side could take over the body would be with the help of some kind of phenomenon. Although, what, I cannot say. Apparently, that phenomenon occurred last night." She put the scroll down and stared thoughtfully at her sister.  
  
Kikyo mused about all of the information that had just been dropped on her. "Well, we can worry about that later. What about my other questions? How was he able to heal as quickly as he did?"  
  
Kaede didn't even have to think about that question. "Well, you see, Onesama, Inu-Yasha is half demon, of course, and demons have the supernatural ability to heal themselves very quickly. And while he was human for last night, his demon blood could do nothing to heal him. However, once the ebbed demon blood returned, it healed him of his ailments even better than we could."  
  
Kikyo nodded slightly in agreement. "And why is he so distant to us even though we helped him recover?"  
  
"We will never find the answer to that in any scroll. That type of reaction only comes from the creature's personality. If he has had a history of being beaten, then he would immediately rebel against anyone or anything that represents being injured that way. He now no longer trusts the people of this village at all, and probably never will. Since we belong to this village, he doesn't trust us either. However, we might need to keep an eye out for him. The stomach injuries are not something even demon blood can heal quickly. The bruises are healed, but the damage to his stomach is not. However, I would advise you to stay here One-sama. He does not trust us, and chasing him might only worsen his feelings toward us."  
  
Kikyo nodded and stared somewhat dreamily out the door where he had disappeared. I want to help him, but how? He won't let me near him! Kikyo almost physically shook her head. What on earth am I saying? Why am I so set on this half demon? I've never had any guilt about killing a demon after the Shikon jewel before, so why is he different? I couldn't... I couldn't... be falling in love with a demon, could I? No... that's ridiculous! Isn't it?  
  
Inu-Yasha settled into a tree. "Nasty humans!" he cried to himself. "That Kikyo girl may be pretty, but that doesn't mean that I want her fawning all over me." Well, pretty may be an understatement. He thought. In fact he thought she was downright beautiful. Admitting that would be a feat, as far as he was considered, never committed. He would never allow himself to show that kind of weakness. Never.  
  
Inu-Yasha sat up, but soon slumped back, clutching his stomach painfully. Savage mortals!! With only that thought in his mind, the hybrid fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hinochan: ZZZZZZzzzzzz.  
  
Kittychan: ZZZZZZzzzzzz.  
  
Inu-Yasha: T-T-T-They're asleep. I-I'm getting outta here. 'Whispering' Stay tuned for the next chapter! Bye! 


	3. Growing Feelings

Kagome: Hi! I'm Kagome! This is Kittychan...

Kittychan: Hi! I don't own the Inu-Yasha characters! waving a paw at camera

Kagome: And this is Hinochan!

Hinochan: Neither do I!

Kittychan: Well, see you after the story! Bye! 'giggles'

Inu-Yasha: 'peeks head back in' Huh?

* * *

Inu-Yasha did not give up on getting the Sacred Jewel. Over and over again, he would crouch in the bushes and try a different strategy to get the jewel. However, no matter how many times he tried to get the jewel, Kikyo would beat him to the punch and keep him away. However many times she did this did not discourage him, though. He would just try again. Inu-Yasha was beginning to wonder at this unusual human. _Every single time that she has stopped me from getting that jewel, she has had every chance to kill me. Yet, she doesn't. Why? Any other human would have slaughtered me as slow as possible the first time they had the chance. So why does she simply let me go every time she catches me?_ These questions began eating away at the half demon, the more he thought about them, which was constantly.  
  
Inu-Yasha raced toward the shrine. Kikyo wasn't on duty as she often was. On the sixth and seventh day of the week, she would have time to herself. Often times, Inu-Yasha would follow her. Why? Even he was not sure. He just knew he wanted to be near her all of the time. However, he wouldn't allow himself that much vulnerability. He restricted himself to just the times that she wasn't guarding the jewel. He gave himself the excuse that he wanted to find out her weakness by following her on her days off, but deep down, he knew it was much more.  
  
Inu-Yasha's ears caught the sound of light and graceful footsteps on the soft grass and bearly had time to turn when he saw three arrows streaking toward his body. He just managed to move his body out of the way, but not his clothes. He hung pinned to a tree by his red robes, Kikyo stood about twenty feet away, holding another arrow fitted to her bow to finish him off as she always had. However, just like always, she relaxed the string of the bow and slipped her arrow back into her quiver. She turned to leave. Inu-Yasha had had enough.  
  
"Wait a minute!" he shouted at her. It was the first thing he had said to her in the past two weeks. She stopped, but did not face him. "Why do you never finish me off?!?!?!"  
  
Kikyo didn't seem surprised that he had spoken to her. She simply turned and looked at him square in the eye, an unreadable expression in her brown eyes. "Quit bothering me! I don't want to waste my arrows." With that she simply walked off, leaving Inu-Yasha to get himself down.  
  
"What is it about pinning her victims to trees that she finds so fascinating?!" he cried to himself. He finally worked the arrows out of his clothes and dashed off.  
  
Inu-Yasha and Kikyo tried to keep their distance, however, fate seemed to have other plans. They constantly ran into each other. Kikyo didn't seem to mind the run ins. She was intrigued and invigorated every time she saw him. He seemed to represent everything that her village warned her of, but she didn't care. She was fascinated by his crude attitude, rough nature, and even a bit by his looks. His strong body gave her a sense of comfort and strength. Even though he would probably never try to protect her, she felt as if nothing could touch her when he was around. However, he never seemed to be there except to steal the jewel. Apparently her attraction was one sided.  
  
_Oh well! It's always nice to dream!_  
  
Kikyo often thought about the time she had pinned him to a tree in the middle of the forest on her day off. She just couldn't get his expression out of her mind. His bright, ever attentive, orange, eyes were not filled with fear, yet not with anger or vengeance. An unreadable creature, no matter what the situation. She dwelt on him all of the time and was beginning to fear that she was in fact falling in love with this half man. Though she never said this openly, Kaede was not ignorant to her dreamy expression every once in a while, and even muttering about a certain half breed constantly. Kaede knew what was going on. On the sixth day of that week, she confronted Kikyo on it. It was the beginning of a new day, and the world did not seem awake yet. Kaede called Kikyo out to a tree and began talking to her. "Onesama, I have noticed your distractions of late. Something is on your mind and I fear it has to do with that awful half- breed. Is this true?"  
  
"Imoto, he is not awful. He is simply misunderstood. And I will admit that my thoughts have dwelt on him mostly since I first came into contact with him. But you must understand my reasoning. He seems to have a gentle spirit, yet has been through so much hardship in his life, that it has buried that. It comes out at different points, but I think that the best I can do for him is to try and help him." Kikyo explained.  
  
Kaede eyed her as if she had two heads. "Onesama! You mustn't let this demon come between you and your duty as a priestess! Do you realize what will happen if the village finds out you are falling for a creature that is not mortal?!"  
  
"Kaede, you know as well as I do that the village would never do anything to physically harm me! I do not fear what they could do to me."  
  
Kaede shook her head. "I do not fear what they would do to you, but what they would do to the half-demon. They will fear that he will distract you from your duties, and they will go after him and slaughter him. You must understand that what I say is not only for your heart, but for that creature, that could be killed on your behalf."  
  
Kikyo seemed taken aback by this statement. She paused for a long while before speaking slowly again. "Inu-Yasha is too strong to be killed by any human. He can defend himself against demons, so what would a few humans be to fend off. He has no desire to take the life of a mortal. Surely this feeling does not apply to demons, but he would never take the life of a human."  
  
"How do you know that Kikyo? You cannot trust his kind. Demons are not to be trusted. They will use any twisted and evil means to get what they want."  
  
"You forget! Inu-Yasha is half human! And I know he would not willingly take the life of a human because he would have done that already!" she cried. Kaede was surprised by her reasoning and stayed still to listen to her continued argument. "He could have taken a villager hostage and promised to kill them if I did not hand over the jewel."  
  
"How do you know he's not planning to do that? You do not, sister. You do not."  
  
"Kaede, Inu-Yasha has tried so many abstract different strategies to get the jewel, that he obviously passed that opportunity a long time ago." Kikyo put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder.  
  
"Kikyo-sama, even though your reasoning has sense, there is no guarantee that the villagers could not take advantage of the hybrid like they did a few weeks ago. He could be put in the same situation and be beaten again, and what if we're not there. He could be killed. You must know this." Kaede reasoned.  
  
"The last time, he was captured under such specific circumstances, that there is no way that kind of thing could happen again!" Kikyo smile reassuringly at her sister. Kaede still was worried, and drooped her head.  
  
"Sister, I understand that you have an affection for him, and I am not saying that you need to forget that, just don't show it openly. For both the creature and the villagers' sake. Remember that you are a priestess, sworn to protect the jewel under any circumstances."  
  
Kikyo smiled warmly. Kaede seemed to flinch, afraid that Kikyo would be angry with her for doubting her. But instead, Kikyo raised Kaede's chin to face her, a warm smile plastered to her face. "Kaede, trust me. I will not forget my duty as a priestess. If it makes you feel better, I will refrain from thinking of him in front of villagers. But even though I am a priestess, I am human and have the right to human emotions. I am allowed to have feelings for whomever I wish, am I not?" Kaede smiled. Her eyes seemed to communicate what she meant to say. Kikyo understood and responded. "I understand that I face persecution on behalf of my feelings, but, think. Inu-Yasha came out of persecution. Without a doubt, his mother and father were severely ridiculed. A dog demon and a human, together? Who ever heard of such a thing? And it was even worse for his mother than it is for me. She was in love with a full blooded demon. Not a half demon. I am not afraid. And besides all of that, I cannot say that I have completely fallen for him. He definitely has my affection. That's for sure. That might change into something stronger, but as of yet, there is no way to tell."  
  
Kaede laughed lightly. "I understand, sister. But even that little attraction is enough to send all of the villagers into a flurry of hatred and fear."  
  
"I know. Then I will just have to be careful." Kikyo smiled. Kaede smiled back. Kikyo then wrapped Kaede in a loving embrace. "Everything will be all right, sister, you'll see."  
  
"I know it will." Kaede answered happily. "I am sorry I doubted you sister. You always know what is best and how to deal with problems. It is not my place to object to that."  
  
Kikyo pulled away a bit. "It matters not. You were simply worried about your elder sister and voiced that concern. You need to think less of our rank, and more of our ties as family." Kikyo smiled. Kaede laughed a bit and nodded. They ended the conversation after that. Kikyo strolled about the forest, on her way to her tree on the seventh day of that week, the day after Kaede had confronted her on her feelings for Inu-Yasha. Kikyo wished that Kaede would use his name instead of calling him creature, or half-breed. However, Kikyo understood that, like many of the villagers, she did not trust or care for any type of demon. Kikyo would respect that and would not force respect for Inu-Yasha on them. She was about to turn toward her tree when a sound caught her ears. It was a gruff, angry, and familiar voice.  
  
"Get away from me, baka! I have no desire to lay your mangled body to rest!! Get away, and go back to your own turf!" it yelled.  
  
Kikyo peered around the tree that was blocking her view of the clearing. After thinking, she recognized it to be the same clearing where she and Inu-Yasha had first come face to face. She pushed aside some bushes and peeked into where, none other than Inu-Yasha and a few unknown demons were squaring off against one another. There was a large feline type creature, a human type demon with long brown hair in a low ponytail, and an alligator type demon at their feet. All three were glaring maliciously at Inu-Yasha, who was staring defiantly back at them, no fear in his eyes. Kikyo thought about rushing in to help, but dismissed it quickly as she thought about what it would do to his feelings about having her around. She lay low and watched the unfolding battle.  
  
Inu-Yasha tensed as the alligator creature launched at him. Uncharacteristically fast for that type of creature, but... everything goes in this world. The half demon held up one mighty hand and swept it along the ground, catching the creature under the jaw and using his claws to cleave the creature in half, a clean cut. The creature instantly disappeared, leaving no evidence that it had ever been there. Kikyo stared in awe. _One swipe! He killed it in ONE SWIPE!!_ Inu-Yasha stood up straight and faced the other two with an air of confidence. He smiled smugly and cracked his knuckles a bit to intimidate the other two offenders. They didn't look so.  
  
The cat creature leapt forward to keep him busy, while the human type one ran around and grabbed his arms to hold them behind his back. As soon as this was accomplished, the cat creature made ready to attack. Kikyo thought fast. She couldn't expose that she had been spying on them. She suddenly got and idea and backed off so that they couldn't see her when she stood. She'd just have to play dumb.  
  
"What's all this racquet?!" she cried from the bushes. She saw all of them freeze. Apparently, the beating had already begun, as Inu-Yasha already had a few scratches on his face. She entered the clearing and put on an angry and terrified face. She screamed quietly, and got out her bow and drew and arrow. "What's going on here?" she cried, pointing the arrow at the three of them so as not to hint bias. She pretended to digress the situation and aimed an arrow at the human creature. "Let him go. I can see that you two are stirring up trouble."  
  
"And what if I choose not to, mortal?" he demanded. He tightened his grip on Inu-Yasha's arms, causing him to wince a bit.  
  
Kikyo saw this and fired an arrow straight for the demon's head. The demon smiled and held Inu-Yasha up by the arms as a shield from the arrow. Kikyo didn't even flinch, on the other hand, Inu-Yasha braced himself for impact. However, none came. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but Kikyo standing there with an empty bow. He felt the hands binding his arms loosen and he dropped to the ground. He turned around to see the demon face first on the ground with a glowing arrow sticking out of the small of his back. Kikyo had redirected the arrow to miss him, and circle around to hit the offending demon! The image of the figure faded and then disappeared entirely. He looked back at Kikyo and gave her what she had to accept as a grateful smile. He then looked to see the feline creature running at Kikyo. She wouldn't have enough time to shoot another arrow! He launched himself at the creature and slammed into it about a foot before the creature hit Kikyo. The two rolled over and over, until Inu-Yasha came out on top and swiped the creature across the neck, causing it to disappear into thin air like the other two had. Inu-Yasha stood and, dusting off his robes, turned on Kikyo.  
  
"Why did you do that?" he cried quietly.  
  
"Do what, save your life?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Yes, that. I could have handled them." He said turning away from her.  
  
"Of course you could have. I just heard the ruckus and-"  
  
"Don't kid yourself. I could smell you the minute you came into the forest, I know you were watching us from the start of the fight." He said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"I was simply coming by when I heard you yelling, and I thought I ought to check out what was happening in case there was any trouble and there was. My duty as a priestess is not only to protect the jewel, but also to maintain peace in my village and the surrounding area. This is the surrounding area." She smiled slightly, then asked her own question. "Why did you save me from that creature? Don't you think I could've handled him?" she asked, taking a step toward him.  
  
"You wouldn't have had enough time to draw an arrow. I was returning the favor." Even as he spoke, she could see the scratches on his face disappearing. She softened her eyes to him, and his mental wall seemed to be falling bit by bit.  
  
"How did you know how long it takes me to draw an arrow and fire it?" she asked, sort of hinting at the fact that she knew he was following her on her days off.  
  
"How do you think? I have been shot at by you too many times for me to not know. Why are you dragging this out? Don't you have duties to attend to?" he asked as he readied to depart.  
  
"You should know that, too. You know that I have the sixth and seventh days of the week off of my duties to relax." Inu-Yasha threw a confused look over his shoulder. She continued. "Do you not think that I cannot feel you when you follow me around? Do you think me that ignorant? I do not think so. I know you follow me. And I think it is because you are lonely. You do not have a home, and so you follow me around, trying to find a sense of purpose." Kikyo blinked, and he was gone. _I must have hit a sore spot. So he is lonely. And he thinks that he will find a purpose following me around. How, I do not know. But I don't mind. If he indeed finds comfort in being near me that is fine, because I find comfort in being near him as well. I can tell he is softening. Maybe I can help bring out that gentle and kind spirit I see inside him. Hopefully I can. _

* * *

Inu-Yasha: 'thinking' Why are they being so civil and normal now that Kagome's in there? They scared me before. Oh well, things look okay now.starts to walk into room Oh! Stay tuned for the next chapter. I think that's what I'm supposed to say. Yeah. Well, bye!

Read and review!!!


	4. New Attraction

Inu-Yasha: 'sneaks into the room that has Kagome, Kittychan, and Hinochan in it' Uhhh... Hello?  
  
Kittychan: It's Inu-Yasha!! Yaaaaaaay!! 'joined by Hinochan' Hark, the herald angels sing, GLORY TO THE NEW BORN KING!!! We do not oooown anyyyyy of the INU-YAHSA CHARACTERS!!!!  
  
Inu-Yasha: 'holds ears' 'Whimpers'  
  
Hinochan: Toca el la stufe!!  
  
Kittychan: 'speaking like a reporter' 'randomly shouting unrelated things out in the middle of her sentences, twitching and her eyes go all screwey every time she says something random' That's right, Hino. There was a big turn out today. Hundreds of people PENGUINS line up today to SHARPIE MARKER touch the stove and already ten KNEE BRACE people were sent to the CALLER ID hospital with third degree burns. It seems that a felon was FAX MACHINE hiding behind the stove and would turn the heat up waaaaaay high WALKMAN every time someone went to touch one of the imfamous BABY OIL eyes.  
  
Hinochan: No kidding, Kitty! That BUTTON stove has graced us with it's METRONOME presence since our ancestors first came to this beautiful LIGHT BULB kitchen. No one knows where it TREE came from, but it is said to have WORMS special powers! Said to be able to roast a turkey in .05 seconds. Wow.  
  
Kittychan: Now, read the story, and learn more about this TOUCH THE STOVE imfamous stove!

* * *

Inu-Yasha darted from tree to tree, racing himself. He was frustrated to no end with himself and that Kikyo girl. How could he have let himself give away that much vulnerability?! How?! He was trying to work off some frustration by running. However, a lot of times, he could go on like this for up to three days before he became extremely tired. He was only at about four hours before he passed the river and decided to stop for a drink. He stopped and knelt down next to the riverbank and cupped a bunch of water in his hand before holding it to his lips and drinking. He took a few more sips before stopping and just thinking. Mostly his thoughts dwelt on Kikyo. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. He was about to get up to leave when a familiar scent caught his nose. He stood and peered over the waterfall. Down at the bottom, along the riverside about one hundred feet was a figure hunched over the side with something clutched in frail hands. Upon a closer inspection, Inu-Yasha found that it was none other than Kikyo. She was wearing a thin white kimono and a bucket was the thing she held in her hands. She dipped it into the water, filling it, then threw the water over her body.  
  
Inu-Yasha paused. He had noticed it before, but his mind never really pointed out her beauty this intensely before. Her long black, silky hair accented her pale face, and her brown eyes always had a caring warm feel to them that never failed to comfort his anger to a certain extent. She opened her eyes and smiled at the refreshing feel of the water. Her smile. Something that caused her perfect face to reach an unearthly beauty. He couldn't deny it, he thought she was the most beautiful being alive, but that didn't matter. He couldn't let this woman take advantage of him like so many demons had taken advantage of the fact that he was not full demon. He turned and ran before he saw anything she shouldn't.  
  
Kikyo knew that Inu-Yasha was following her, but she really didn't mind. She felt honored that he found her interesting. She hoped he found her as interesting as she found him, but oh well. She made her way though another week, counting down the days until he would be near her all the time. However, since she had had the talk with Kaede, her feelings had not dulled, but she hid them a lot better, and a lot more often. She walked up and sat down on the grassy hill overlooking the village. She set her bow and arrows down and closed her eyes as the wind blew her troubles away. She couldn't resist anymore. She opened her eyes and spoke. "Inu-Yasha! I know you're there. Won't you come down?"  
  
Inu-Yasha appeared above her in a tree. He jumped down and sat about five feet away from her. He sat in a way that seemed as if he was ready to bolt at any second. Kikyo didn't mind. She knew he didn't trust her all the way yet and it was his instinct as a demon. Or half demon anyway. "It is the first time we have spoken like this." She said, meaning calmly and not when she has already done something to annoy him or vise-versa.  
  
Inu-Yasha tensed and leaned away from her a bit. "So what?" he cried.  
  
Kikyo almost smiled. Him and his tough guy act. Would he never learn? She continued and asked him a question. "Inu-Yasha, how do I look? Do I look human?" she wondered, turning her face to him.  
  
Inu-Yasha was caught off guard by her question. "Huh?! What are you talking about?" he cried, sitting up straight again. She wasn't making sense.  
  
Kikyo continued on what she needed to tell him. "I never show anyone my weakness. I must never waver. Otherwise, some demon will get the better of me. I'm human, but I mustn't be human. You and I have things in common. You, the half demon. That's why I couldn't kill you." She said.  
  
Inu-Yasha scrunched up his face in an expression of disapproval. He now understood that she didn't want to kill him because he was an outsider like her, but she didn't need to complain. "Hmph! Complaining! That's not like you at all! Hmph!" He stood and turned to leave but turned back around when he almost heard a laugh. The eyes that he met changed his viewpoint of her.  
  
Kikyo's eyes held such a look of loneliness that reflected much of his own. He could relate to what she was saying. He found it difficult to look away. He found so much of his own hurt in those brown eyes. At that point, he knew that he wanted to help protect her from more hurt that he, himself had suffered. He didn't know where that would lead him, he only knew that this was something he needed to do. He continued looking at her as she spoke. "I guess... It's unlike me." She smiled once again and stood to leave. "Well, thank you for being here, Inu-Yasha. I just want you to know that I want to view you more as a friend than just another demon. I sense that that is what you want too, but you are afraid that you will be hurt just as you have been over, and over again in the past. I hope that someday you will be able open up a bit more to me as a friend. I'm not sure how long that will take, but I'm willing to wait."  
  
Inu-Yasha couldn't stop thinking about Kikyo. He suspected that... maybe... maybe he was falling for her as he suspected she was for him. He considered it shameful, but after all of the time he had spent thinking about her, following her around, making his own vow to protect her, he was beginning to believe it himself. Whenever he saw her, she seemed to get more beautiful, even when it didn't seem possible. Like his mind would point out, _her eyes are really sparkling today_, or, _the attire of a priestess really suits her form, does it not?_ Other days it was things like, _Wow, how can she have that much patience?,_ or maybe, _I hope that she is always this kind to me_. Some days are just, _Boy, I'm sure glad that bow doesn't point at me._ But no matter what his mind was complimenting her on, she just seemed to get better and better. Her love for what she was doing, her kindness toward the people of her village, and her patience with him. She was trying her best to be friends with him, but he just plain couldn't trust her as much as he wanted to. He wanted to trust her with all of his being, but because of his past, that was just impossible. For now, he would just have to keep his feelings bottled up. Otherwise he would become more vulnerable than ever. So he stuck with following her all of the days of the week to protect her. He was always by her side, and she was always by his whenever he needed her.  
  
Over this period of around two months, the village began to grow suspicious. Kikyo wasn't distracted from her job, she was just always acting weird. She didn't seem herself. Kikyo had no intention of telling the village that she was spending time with a half demon. However, she was worried that soon, they would discover him and hurt him. They probably wouldn't suspect their feelings for each other, but they would want to get rid of Inu-Yasha nonetheless. Inu-Yasha seemed unfazed by this. He was loyal and wouldn't leave her side. He was never seen by anyone but her, but he was always near. The two didn't talk much. They didn't have the chance to. Often, she would need to talk to villagers or perform other duties, and at those times, Inu-Yasha would disappear and reappear when they were finished.  
  
Kikyo entered the hut where the village leaders were to discuss certain matters about the village. She turned to the door to see Inu-Yasha bound off into the forest to do whatever it was he always did. Kikyo smiled and knelt down next to a few other leaders as the village head stood and addressed the group.  
  
"We have called this meeting on account of protection. Kikyo, we need to discuss certain matters of the protection of the Jewel of the Four Souls." He said as all of the heads swiveled around to look at her.  
  
"What is the matter? If you need me to improve upon an area of my guard, please tell me." She said, quietly.  
  
"Well, not to speak above your expertise in this area, but some of the villagers think that there is a demon lurking about the village like a shadow. Many food supplies have been raided and quite a few houses have been robbed. Many precious things have been stolen straight from the houses, with no sign of any human entering the hut. This kind of robbery could only have been committed by a demon of sorts. The food stores are our chief concern. Since winter is coming soon, we need to save as much food as possible, and having a demon steal it is not helping the villagers." Explained a second committee member.  
  
Kikyo let all of this sink in. The first thought that came to her head was that Inu-Yasha had done it. _It would make sense considering how this starts soon after he gains my trust, but Inu-Yasha is so loyal! I can't imagine him doing any such thing!  
_  
Kikyo was pulled out of her reverie by the head of the village. "Kikyo- sama? Do you think that it would be wise to post guards by night? It could protect our food stores."  
  
Kikyo looked up at him and then stood. "I will think on this matter. I will go draw water from the river and think. I will come back in three hours time. Be back here when I come and I will tell you my decision then."  
  
"Yes, Kikyo-sama."  
  
Kikyo headed out to the river, thinking about the possibilities of the perpetrator being Inu-Yasha. She thought all the way to the river and once she was there, she set the bucket down and splashed some water on her face. She heard another splashing noise and looked up. She was worried because she was unarmed and she could do nothing if it was a demon. Inu-Yasha wasn't there to protect her.  
  
Or maybe he was.  
  
Across the river, about waist deep in the water was a distracted Inu-Yasha. His red over cloak hung on a branch nearby, as well as the white one that he wore beneath it. He still wore the red baggy pants that were, at this point, almost completely submerged in the water. His back was turned to her and he seemed to be examining something on his arm. She stood and waded about up to the thighs in the cold river water. She ran out of the water and up on the log bridge that crossed over the river. "Inu-Yasha!" she called waving at him.  
  
Inu-Yasha spun around, recognizing the voice to be Kikyo's. His eyes widened at the sight of her walking across the bridge to greet him. He quickly hid his arm behind his back as she stopped about five feet in front of him, the cold water of the bank, only reaching her mid shins. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at that meeting with the village leaders." He said, a shiver running down his back. It was cold.  
  
"Yes, but they needed me to make a decision and I always walk out to the river and draw water for the village whenever I have to make a decision." She answered, her face gained a bit of a solemn look.  
  
"What was the decision?" he asked backing up into deeper water. He was now in water that reached up to the middle of his strong chest, concealing whatever it was that he was examining on his arm when she arrived.  
  
"Well, I kind of wanted to talk to you, Inu-Yasha. An interesting issue has been brought before the group of leaders of the village. I am one. The issue is that many food stores and homes have been robbed of precious things. My decision was to find out if we should have guards stand out at night." She answered, looking expectantly at Inu-Yasha.  
  
Inu-Yasha noticed her staring. "What?" he asked. Then he got the gist of what she was hinting. "Kikyo! You don't think it was me, do you?" he asked, not hurt, but surprise in his voice.  
  
"Please say you didn't. I didn't think you did either, but I just need to know." She said, her brown eyes pleading with him.  
  
Inu-Yasha almost broke down his wall at that point. Those eyes. Inu-Yasha loved Kikyo's eyes and couldn't stand to see anything but happiness in them. "Of course not! I wouldn't do such a thing. I don't want to do anything to make you mad. Besides, your food tastes strange. I prefer to hunt my own thank you. I don't need to depend on your village to get my own food."  
  
"Good." Kikyo smiled again. Inu-Yasha relaxed. But he tensed at her next question. "What were you doing here anyway?"  
  
Inu-Yasha seemed to struggle for what to say. "Uhh... I got a cut and I was trying to clean it." He answered as if he was trying to minimize something.  
  
Kikyo's face took on a worried expression. "Oh! Let me see! Maybe I can help." She said walking toward him a bit.  
  
"That's okay, you stay there! The undercurrent is strong. You could be swept downstream." He said holding out his good arm.  
  
"Well, either come here, or I'm coming out there." She said, putting her hands on her frail hips.  
  
Inu-Yasha sighed in defeat and walked toward her. He finally reached her so he was about three feet in front of her. He held out his arm and Kikyo gasped at the gash that ran along the underside of his arm. It started about two inches from his wrist and went all the way to about a half an inch from his elbow. "What on earth happened?!" she almost screamed.  
  
"It's nothing. It might take a day or so, but it will heal. I got it when I was passing a tree. A sharp branch cut into my arm. It's nothing." He explained.  
  
"That's not nothing! That looks pretty serious!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Well, you forget that I'm half demon. Not a weird human like you!" Inu- Yasha joked.  
  
Kikyo smiled and splashed some cold water on him. "Hey! That wasn't nice!" she cried.  
  
"AHH! That's cold!" he cried, wrapping his arms around his torso.  
  
"You are standing in it up to your hips! How can you say that now?" she wondered laughing a bit.  
  
"Hey! My chest wasn't used to the water yet. And I bet your whole body isn't either." He said smiling a bit. He put his hands together and slammed them into the water, causing a large amount to cover her body. She screamed a bit before standing up straight and turning around to get out of the water.  
  
"T-T-T-That's c-c-c-c-c-c-c-cold!" she stammered.  
  
"Well, duh!" he said, walking slowly out of the water. He stopped for a few seconds to make sure the gash was no longer bleeding and then stood up to get his cloaks back on. They weren't on the tree. "Kikyo!! Where are my cloaks?!" he cried.  
  
"Oh, I don't know." She answered a bit too innocently.  
  
"Kikyo, Come on! It's cold out here! I need my cloaks!" he cried, shivering a bit.  
  
"That's for splashing me!" she said walking back across the bridge. "I also want to see how far you can jump." She made it to about half-way across the bridge and stopped, waiting for him to come to her.  
  
He did so, a confused look on his face. "What is that supposed to mean?" She pointed at the tree behind her with her thumb. His eyes climbed the tree until they found his cloaks pinned by an arrow at about the top of the tree. "You have got to be kidding me. How did you get them up there?" he wondered, turning his eyes back on her.  
  
"Bow?" she asked in answer.  
  
Inu-Yasha sighed and crouched down low, letting as much energy build in his ankles as he could get, then launched himself at the tree. He made it about three-quarters of the way up, but covered the rest of the distance with one jump. He reached the branch they were next to and slipped them over his head. He tied them and jumped back down. He landed in front of Kikyo and smiled grimly. "Satisfied?" he asked.  
  
"Very much so." She said smiling back.  
  
Kikyo looked at Inu-Yasha's eyes. They were a lot softer than they used to be. They used to be full of rage and hurt, but now, they looked like a sea that had been calmed. The two held each other's gaze for a while. Ever so slowly, the distance between them closed, until they were about an inch apart. Inu-Yasha's eyes snapped open and his ears twitched as a rustle was heard in the bushes. Kikyo noticed his disturbance and turned around to see Kaede emerge from the bushes. Kikyo gasped.  
  
"Kikyo, what are you doing? You're all wet!" Kaede cried. Kikyo turned around to find that the half demon was gone. "I thought you came to draw water. What happened, sister? Did you fall into the water?"  
  
"No, I didn't Imoto." Kikyo answered, coming off of the bridge.  
  
Kaede gasped quietly. "You were with that hybrid, weren't you? Listen, sister. I don't approve of him. He is half demon." She said as Kikyo picked up her bucket.  
  
"Kaede, nevermind him. I am not marrying him. So, do not worry."  
  
"I worry for your safety, sister." Kaede whispered solemnly.  
  
Kikyo had eventually agreed to putting up guards to watch for any demon that could possibly steal any type of valuable. Her love for her job grew with each passing day. As did her love for the half-breed. It was clear that both had strong feelings for one another, just, both were too shy to admit it. However, words didn't seem necessary. Kikyo would be the main person talking if they spoke at all, but Kikyo understood Inu-Yasha's silences more than his words, when he used them. Kikyo could tell he still had so much anger built up in him, and was rash sometimes, but Kikyo understood. No matter how angry he got, he would never resort to hurting her. That in itself proved to be a sign of how much he cared. Kaede had once told her that demons, and even hybrids have almost no control over their anger. When they get angry, they may do things that they would never do in real life. However even when in complete rage, he never laid a clawed hand on her. She could tell that he was beginning to love her, maybe not as much as she loved him, but, he did love her. And it would take a while for him to work up the guts to say that. She would wait. She knew he needed time.  
  
Kikyo sat inside the shrine. She was polishing the jewel as she always did, on the last day of every month. The jewel could be damaged if it lost its shine, so she or another caretaker of the jewel would polish it with a special substance every last day of the month. She looked at it sparkle through the light leaking through the cracks in the wood of the shrine. _Inu- Yasha wants this to become a full-fledged demon. I wish he would use it for something else. What if he wished to be turned to a human! Maybe, just maybe, his and my future together could work out. The jewel would be purified and disappear, I would be a normal woman and be able to live out my life with him if he wanted to! Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful!_ Kikyo continued to daydream about Inu-Yasha as a human until her job was done. She wasn't thinking about asking him about it anytime soon, though. That would be ridiculous!  
  
She walked out of the shrine and headed toward her tree. She had been waiting to get some meditating done, and this was going to be her only chance this week. Last week she had only gotten three hours of meditating in, and she needed to think about many things. A lot of them had to do with Inu-Yasha. She smiled as the tree entered her line of sight. A familiar thought struck her as she saw someone laying down on the thickest branch. Inu-Yasha. She smiled and climbed up onto the branch. She sat and watched him sleep for a few minutes before he stirred and sat up when he saw her.  
  
"Gomen! I didn't mean to keep you from your meditating. I'll go." He was about to jump, when Kikyo caught the sleeve of his robe.  
  
"Wait! That's all right! I don't mind you being here. In fact, I'd enjoy your company." She said as he sat back down. She looked at him as she thought about her idea of him becoming human. _That would be so wonderful!_  
  
Inu-Yasha looked over at her, but then quickly studied something on the forest floor. Kikyo swore she saw something of a blush creep onto his cheeks. She smiled. The two sat in silence for a long time, sitting on the tree leaning against the tree trunk. Kikyo felt fatigue begin to overtake her, and Inu-Yasha noticed that she was beginning to lean on his shoulder.  
  
"You look tired. You should sleep." He said quietly.  
  
Kikyo smiled, but didn't right herself. "That's okay. I'm fine."  
  
"Liar." He said a bit playfully. Kikyo smiled before the two once again drifted into silence. After about five minutes, Kikyo was asleep. She had almost fallen over, but Inu-Yasha caught her and brought her to rest in his lap, pillowing her head on his chest. Inu-Yasha almost fell asleep too, but he remained awake. He had sworn to protect her, and he was going to follow through.  
  
Inu-Yasha guarded the sleeping priestess for about an hour before she stirred in his lap. He looked down as she slowly opened her eyes and blushed a bit at her position. She didn't move however. She was comfortable. She looked up at Inu-Yasha, who was looking back at her.  
  
Inu-Yasha couldn't take his eyes off of hers. She was so beautiful. Her eyes had a spark of life in them. The spark that yearned to help him. He wanted it to help him, he just didn't know how to let it. _I have to surrender myself to the help. I can't let it help me if I hold back my feelings for her. I have to let her know. But, how?_ Inu-Yasha then noticed that once again, like the time at the lake, his face was involuntarily drifting slowly toward hers. Likewise seemed to be true for her face. But, the likeness of their last encounter like this did not end there. A rustle in the bushes and the scent of a human caused him to look up. Kikyo opened her eyes to see Inu-Yasha looking off to the side, and she knew that Kaede was probably coming. He turned back to her, and she knew he didn't want to leave, but he had to. She quickly got out of his lap and stood as he bounded off into the forest. She looked wistfully after the half demon before turning to face none other than her younger sister.  
  
"Onesama! It is time for you to come back! Our meal will be ready soon." She called up.  
  
Kikyo nodded and hopped down. As she passed Kaede, she whispered something. "Imoto, you have terrible timing."

* * *

Kittychan: Yaaaay! Yooo like story? I hope so!  
  
Hinochan: 'has locked doors and is bouncing around in circles' agnhanhagnhagnhanghanghnahanhnhnahnagghnhgnhnghnanghanhnan!!!!!  
  
Kittychan: What was that? I didn't quite hear you. 'giggles'  
  
Hinochan: agnhanhagnhagnhanghanghnahanhnhnahnagghnhgnhnghnanghanhnan!!!!!  
  
Kittychan: Say it again, I didn't get it.  
  
Hinochan: agnhanhagnhagnhanghanghnahanhnhnahnagghnhgnhnghnanghanhnan!!!!!  
  
Kittychan: 'looks like is conducting a concert' Again! You're beautiful!  
  
Hinochan: agnhanhagnhagnhanghanghnahanhnhnahnagghnhgnhnghnanghanhnan!!!!!  
  
Kittychan: Let's go again!  
  
Inu-Yasha and Kagome: STOOOOP!!  
  
Hinochan: agnhanhagnhagnhanghanghnahanhnhnahnagghnhgnhnghnanghanhnan!!!!!  
  
Kittychan: Music to my ears! Again!  
  
Inu-Yasha and Kagome: Come back to get us! We need to get outta here!! 


	5. Promised New Life

Kittychan: 'fiddling with a necklace' Hmmm.

Hinochan: 'fiddling with her new class ring' Hummm.

Inu-Yasha and Kagome: 'Eying them like bombs about to explode'

Kittychan and Hinochan: I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!!!

Inu-Yasha and Kagome: 'jump five feet in the air'

Kittychan: Let's go! Story time everyone! Now, let's all gather around the chair and I'll read you a story. Okay, here goes. Once upon a time, there were two authoresses. They loved to write. One day they decided to write a story together. They wrote about a half human who fell in love with a human girl. However, there was one catch to the girls writing this story. THEY DIDN'T OWN A SINGLE CHARACTER!!! They had to exclaim that they did not own them. And we don't. They were property of Sunrise. And they all lived insanely ever after. The end.

Hinochan: 'Wipes tear away from eye' That was so b-b-b-beautiful, man. I can't stand it. 'sniff sniff' bawls with Kittychan, hugging each other

Kittychan: Those two authoresses are an inspiration to all of us! 'shniff shniff'

Inu-Yasha: Uh... oO... you ARE the authoresses.

Hinochan: I know. That's what makes it so... so...

Kittychan: Awe inspiring! 'cries'

Inu-Yasha: 'to audience' There's something wrond with them... seriously. And if you guys don't get us out of here soon, there's going to be something severely wrong with us too. So... you'll pick us up after the chapter, right? Good. Hurry up!

* * *

Kikyo's next week of guard seemed to last a lifetime. Winter was upon the village and she was bundling up a lot. Inu-Yasha didn't seem to notice the cold though. He never changed his attire. She wondered if he was going to grow a thick coat of fur like many animals did during the winter. The image of Inu-Yasha as a white ball of fur kept her amused during the long, harsh, cold days. Inu-Yasha's appearance didn't alter though, and neither did his determination to stay by her side during the long days. She seemed to be alone a lot more often during the winter. That was because many of the villagers didn't want to leave the warmth of their houses and didn't come for their guard until they absolutely had to. Inu-Yasha was able to relax more and come out of hiding more than usual. He would help her with different chores she had to do, or build fires for her if she got cold. Sometimes he would give her his red cloak if she needed extra support, assuring her that he himself was not cold. She never believed him, but, there was no arguing with this guy. Most of the time, he was simply there for emotional support. The burden of the Jewel was an onerous one, and Inu- Yasha wanted to help her carry it. It was an onerous burden that was forced upon her. She hadn't had any choice whatsoever, and she was okay with being the priestess that she was, but sometimes, it was just so hard. Inu-Yasha made that all better. Just having him around seemed to calm her nerves and relieve some stress.  
  
However, finally, her days of guard were over, and she and Inu-Yasha met out on the field to relax on the sixth day. It was cold, but neither minded. Their company was enough. Inu-Yasha kept glancing over at Kikyo. He noticed her beauty even under all of the bundles that she wore. Nothing she wore seemed to dim her unearthly glow. His dog ears sat straight up on his head as a plethora of scents hit his acute sense of smell. One scent was unfamiliar. The others were unmistakably blood. He turned to Kikyo. "Something has slaughtered many humans. The massacre is less than two miles away."  
  
Kikyo's eyes widened in horror. "The village! We need to get there now!!" she stood, grabbing her bow and slinging her quiver onto her back. She was about to take off running when Inu-Yasha grabbed her and pulled her onto his back. Without explanation, he jumped into the air, covering hundreds of feet in a single leap. He took many leaps, until the village was in sight. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the village. The bloodshed was occurring at the shrine. Inu-Yasha took a mighty leap toward the shrine where a giant cat demon, standing about twenty feet tall, was cutting down man after man, trying to make his way to the shrine that held the priceless jewel.  
  
Kikyo dropped off of his back as he passed the shrine, and he darted into a tree where he waited, making sure that he was there if she needed him. The demon didn't seem to notice her at first, but as soon as she caught his eye, he charged straight for her. She fired four arrows at him, which he quickly hit away. He shooed away humans until he was towering over Kikyo. He reached down and scooped her up in his giant hand. Inu-Yasha held his position. His entire body screamed at him to go save her, but he remained still. _I have to wait! If I go out there without her calling for me, I could be putting her in more danger._ He sat and watched. The only way to vent some of his frustration was growling. He did that without cease.  
  
Kikyo felt her breath being squeezed out of her. She didn't know what to do. If she didn't escape, it would kill her and take the jewel. She got an idea and took in a deep breath. "Inu-Yasha!! Help!" she cried. It was loud enough that the hanyou would hear it, but quiet enough that the villagers could not.  
  
Inu-Yasha heard Kikyo's quiet plea for help. You didn't need to tell him twice. He launched off the tree in the direction of the cat beast. He let a loud growl emit from his throat, catching the cat's attention. The cat turned around to face him, so that Inu-Yasha could plainly see Kikyo. He jumped onto his hand and pulled Kikyo from his grasp. He picked her up bridal style and was about to jump when he felt the cat's claws dig into his back, then pull across the small of his back. He screamed in pain, but held tightly to Kikyo as he jumped to the tree he had just left. He set Kikyo down on the branch and put a hand on his back.  
  
"Inu-Yasha..." Kikyo managed to get out. Her lungs were craving more oxygen than they had gotten, and the cat beast had nearly squeezed the life out of her. "Are you... all right?" she wondered weakly.  
  
"Kikyo!" Inu-Yasha turned around to face her and examined her face. "Are you all right? Did he break any bones?"  
  
Kikyo would have laughed if it wouldn't cause her a lot of pain. "No. I'm okay. But... the jewel!" she cried as she saw the creature hunched over the shrine. He plunged his massive hand in and pulled out the minuscule sphere. He laughed and was abut to shove it in his mouth when Inu-Yasha jumped onto his arm and wrenched the jewel from his grasp. With his free hand, he readied an attack. _YOU! You nearly killed Kikyo! You'll pay for what you've done!!_ Inu-Yasha's eyes glowed red for a second before he swiped his claws down the entire length of the creature's body, cleaving it in half as he had done to that alligator type demon those weeks ago.  
  
Inu-Yasha landed gracefully on his feet, the jewel still in his hand. Kikyo descended the tree and stood, leaning against it. Inu-Yasha stared at the jewel nestled in his palm. This was all he needed to turn into a full demon. It was right in front of him. He looked up, and saw Kikyo. She was staring worriedly back at him.  
  
Kikyo stared at Inu-Yasha. His orange eyes were fixated on the jewel. He may have been a man that she loved, but he was still half demon. Nothing assured her that he was not going to take off with the jewel. She made no moves for a long time. Finally, he looked up at her and slowly made his way toward her. He stopped when he was close enough that Kikyo could feel his breath on her face. He grasped her hand and brought it level with his own. He dropped the jewel into her small hand and backed away before disappearing into the trees of the forest. Kikyo stared after him. _He does love me! Otherwise, he would have taken off with the jewel. That must have been so hard!  
_  
Kikyo didn't see Inu-Yasha for the rest of the day, but she knew that he was there. He just seemed a bit embarrassed, and maybe a bit miffed at himself for not keeping the jewel. But, he showed his feelings for her plain enough. However, she could not dwell on his troubles for long. She had her own to worry about. Unfortunately, the village men had seen Inu- Yasha, and were less than pleased that the demon seemed to be helping her. Luckily for her they never suspected that the two were in love, but she was still worried about him. At the end of the seventh day, Inu-Yasha finally gathered the guts to approach her. They sat on the snow-covered hill where they always did and simply enjoyed each other's company. They sat there for a few hours, before a few villagers appeared, and Inu-Yasha was forced to conceal himself. He soon came back down and sat a bit closer than he had before. Kikyo looked over at him and smiled. He looked at her, and gave her a look that seemed content. That was his version of a smile. The smile on her face soon weakened, as she asked the question that had been bugging her all week.  
  
"Inu-Yasha?" The hanyou turned to look at her. "Yesterday, during the fight with that cat demon. You didn't take the Shikon Jewel. Why not? You had it right in your hand. You could have easily escaped, but, instead, you chose to give it back to me. Why is that?"  
  
Inu-Yasha looked away. "Momentary insanity, that's all." Kikyo could tell he was joking. He continued. "Besides, even if I had tried to take it, I wouldn't have gotten very far. Your arrows would have stopped me before my feet left the ground." He threw her the very first smile she had ever gotten out of him. She loved his smile. She wished he would show it more often.  
  
Winter passed and spring came. Soon, Kikyo and Inu-Yasha were seeing less and less of each other during her guard days. This just made them look forward to seeing each other at the end of each week. Kikyo thought about him all the time, as he did her. The more she thought, the more she figured that asking him to become human seemed like a good idea. On the third day of that week, she decided that she would ask him. And she did. At the end of the fifth day, she met him as she always did. They sat on the hill overlooking the village in silence for a long while before Kikyo sorted out her scattered thoughts and managed to bring up the issue.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, have you ever given thought to using the Sacred Jewel for something other than turning into a full blooded demon?" she wondered.  
  
He turned and gave her a look, but then spoke. "Not really. Why? What were you thinking of?"  
  
"Well..." Kikyo trailed off. After a few tense seconds under his orange gaze, she spoke again. "What if you used it to... turn into a human?" she wondered. "Do you think you would be better or worse off for it?"  
  
"Me... A human?" he asked staring at her.  
  
"Sure you can. You're half human, after all. If the Sacred Jewel fell into the hands of a demon, its powers would greatly increase. But if it was used to turn you into a human, the Jewel would be purified and would probably cease to exist."  
  
Inu-Yasha pondered this for a few minutes. Would that help him? He responded to her with his own question. "Then what would happen to you, Kikyo?"  
  
Kikyo's spirits brightened. He was seriously thinking about it!! She looked over at the village. "My duty is to protect the jewel. Without the Jewel, I'd become an ordinary person. I'd live out the rest of my life as a normal woman." She answered. Inu-Yasha went silent again as he pondered the ups and downs of this. "If you really, seriously consider it, you need time to think. Why don't we meet at the river dock tomorrow? We can speak once again there. Maybe go on a boat ride. But for now, you must think. It is growing late and I must get some sleep. You get some sleep as well, Inu- Yasha." She turned to leave.  
  
"Until morning, Kikyo." Inu-Yasha said quietly, his head still swimming around in the questions she had asked him.  
  
"Until morning, Inu-Yasha." She smiled at him as she left.  
  
_You know why she asked you those questions, don't you?_ The little voice inside Inu-Yasha's head asked. _She wants to be with you. Doesn't she?_ Inu- Yasha shook his head. _Why would she want that? I'm not even all human! As if she'd want to live with me!_ He cried. She _was saying that the whole time you were talking! Stupid! You love her, don't you?!_ Inu-Yasha's eyes widened. _Of course! I love her with everything I've got!_ The other voice continued. _If she asked you outright, do you love her enough to say yes?_ Inu-Yasha almost nodded. _Of course I would! Then, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. I need to tell her how I feel, but I haven't a clue how to do it!  
_  
Inu-Yasha thought no more. He longed for a human life with Kikyo. Or any life with her. If he could be with her, he would undergo any transformation required. It didn't matter to him. He would die for her. And it seemed as if his demon side was going to die for her. That didn't matter anymore. He would tell her tomorrow.  
  
True to her word, Kikyo went to the dock of the river. She retrieved a boat, climbed in and peddled it downstream until she was out of sight of the village. At the bank, she met Inu-Yasha, loyally waiting for her. He climbed in and took the stick to paddle the boat. Kikyo sat in the back while Inu-Yasha stood up front propelling the craft. After a few minutes of silence, Kikyo spoke.  
  
"You thought about my idea last night, did you?"  
  
"Yes." Was her only answer.  
  
"What are your thoughts on it?" she wondered, trying not to force the issue.  
  
"I was simply thinking of how it would effect my life. All my life, I've been pretty much alone. That is due to my being half and half. Not quite anything definite. I wondered if becoming one or the other would solve my problem. I always thought so, but I never considered turning human instead of demon. That never seemed to be an option. My spirit seemed to demand respect and I thought the only way to get it was by force, becoming a demon." He answered as they neared an empty dock.  
  
"Has that thought changed?" Kikyo wondered.  
  
"Yes. Last night I thought if the demanded respect would truly make me happy. To be honest, I'm not sure if it would." Inu-Yasha stopped the boat by the dock and got out, turning and watching as Kikyo began to climb out. She put one foot on the wooden dock, but when she brought her other foot up, it caught on the side and she fell forward. Inu-Yasha held up the pole that he used to steer and propel the boat horizontally and caught her as she fell against his chest. Inu-Yasha looked at her eyes. Her love for him was sparkling brighter than ever in her rich brown eyes. Inu-Yasha had never had any second doubts on his actual answer, but now, he had no second thoughts about telling her. He dropped the stick and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her close. Kikyo gasped quietly, before Inu- Yasha spoke.  
  
"The truth is Kikyo," he started quietly, "I would destroy my demon side any day if I could be with you. I know that now, and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it. I do love you. I want you to know that."  
  
Kikyo smiled widely and grabbed him as well, returning his hug. "I love you too, Inu-Yasha. I hope you already know that. Thank you so much."  
  
The two sat there, not moving, holding each other close. Inu-Yasha didn't even move when he heard Kaede approach. Kikyo heard her too, but she didn't move either. Kaede looked at the two and gasped quietly. Kikyo and Inu- Yasha broke their embrace and turned to see Kaede. Kikyo approached her younger sister and put a hand on her shoulder. "Kaede..."  
  
"Sister, what are you doing? You must understand what he is. He is half demon. He will turn on you as soon as the jewel is near. You mustn't be near him so much." Kaede cut her off and spoke quietly and with an edge of fear in her voice.  
  
"Kaede, I love him, and he loves me. There is nothing to worry about. He is going to use the sacred Jewel to turn into a human so that we won't have to worry about him being dangerous." She answered, smiling warmly.  
  
"Kikyo, how can you be sure that he will use it in that way? He is wild and untamed." She answered, still not excepting him.  
  
"Sister, do not worry. Everything will be all right. I will bring him the jewel in a few days and everything will be over. I know what I am doing. Do not interfere, sister. Please. I ask you this as a sister. I don't want you, me, or Inu-Yasha hurt." Kikyo pleaded, looking back at Inu-Yasha. Inu- Yasha had a somewhat worried expression on his face. It was the first time she had seen a scared or worried expression on his face. The thought of losing Kikyo was scarier than anything he had gone through before.  
  
Kaede looked at Inu-Yasha. Inu-Yasha looked back at her. Kaede seemed to be trying to delve into the very feelings of the half-demon. She saw something in his eyes that she thought she would never see in the eyes of any being associated with demons. Love. Love sparkled in his eyes like a bright light. She relaxed a bit and turned to her sister. "I still do not completely approve of this, sister. But, I will not interfere. I can see that there are strong feelings between you. But, be careful. The villagers now know of Inu-Yasha and are terrified. They will lash out angrily if they get their hands on him. I suggest that you, Inu-Yasha, stay low until you are human. If that is truly what you are going to do. Go, before I come to my senses, sister." she said laughing.  
  
Kikyo smiled a smile that radiated its own light and grabbed her sister in a tight hug. "Thank you sister. I know things will all be over soon."  
  
Kaede returned the hug quickly before turning to head back to the village. "It is fine. I know that you are more than just the priestess of this village. You are a human being and my sister. Now, come. We must return before it gets too dark."  
  
Kikyo laughed and started to follow, before she turned to Inu-Yasha. "I will see you tomorrow night at our tree. All right?"  
  
"I'll be there." He answered before taking off into the forest.  
  
Inu-Yasha sat in the tree he and Kikyo called their tree. He dozed a bit as he waited for Kikyo to show up. There was only one more day until she was to bring him the jewel. She was going to give it to him on the first day of the week, when she had access to it. He caught wind of her scent and turned his eyes downward to lift her up into the tree. He pulled her into his lap as he had when she had fallen asleep against him. Kikyo rested her head against his chest, listening to the strong slow rhythm of his heartbeat. Allowing it to lull her into a dozing state. Inu-Yasha wrapped his arms protectively around her and emitted a low, content growl as a dog would. She wrapped her arm around his and sighed a bit. The two sat there for a long while, before Kikyo looked up at his face. He was looking out around the forest, almost like a watchdog, but his expression was a relaxed one.  
  
She took a slender hand and put it to his cheek. He looked down at her and smiled slightly. Kikyo noticed that once again, their faces were drifting slowly together. This time, however, the distance was closed. Inu-Yasha closed his eyes and succumbed to the kiss Kikyo gave. He felt like his body was being wracked by electricity. Being so close to her invigorated him with a new passion every time. It never failed to make the love in his heart grow. After a few minutes, they broke apart and looked at each other. Inu-Yasha threw her a loving smile, the smile that Kikyo absolutely adored. She got out of his lap and sat down next to him, leaning on his shoulder, enjoying the view of the forest. Inu-Yasha was somewhat slumped against the tree, so she could easily reach his head if she were to try. She looked at his dog ears. Those seemed to communicate more than his words could. His face never showed a lot of emotion, but she could tell what he was thinking if she watched those inhuman ears. They would droop when he was saddened, perk up when he was listening, flatten when angry, and she could tell that as long as his ears were up, she knew he was listening to her, whether it seemed that way or not. They always twitched, ever sensing for any danger or unwelcome movement. She reached up and grabbed one of his ears, feeling the soft fur that covered it. Inu-Yasha jumped slightly and looked at her, his ears down slightly.  
  
"Sorry." She said, taking her hand away.  
  
"It's alright." He smiled weakly, then sat back against the tree and closed his eyes once more.  
  
She looked at his ears again. _Did he mean it's alright to touch them, or was he simply forgiving me?_ Whichever it was, she reached for them again. This time, she took both in her hands and looked at his reaction. There was none. Not even in his ears. She rubbed them slightly, finding an odd pleasure in their softness. Inu-Yasha's entire body relaxed as she continued to rub his demon ears. This would probably be the only time she would be able to. She continued to rub them, until Inu-Yasha seemed to lean back against her. She lowered his head into her lap and once again stroked his ears as a smile played on his lips. He let out a low content growl, almost like a purr and relaxed again. She smiled and almost laughed.  
  
"Does the doggy like that?" she wondered, baby talking him.  
  
Inu-Yasha smiled a bit more and moved his mouth very little when he spoke. "Mmmmm... be quiet." He joked. He sounded as if he was about to fall asleep. Kikyo remained by his side for a while more before the sky began to darken. She told him she had to go, and he got up, Kikyo standing with him. He pulled her into an embrace and planted a quick kiss on her lips. She smiled and put a hand to his face.  
  
"So, I will meet you on the hill tomorrow right after dawn?" she asked him quietly.  
  
"Yeah. I'll be there." He answered softly.  
  
Kikyo was about to take off when Inu-Yasha grabbed her wrist. She turned to him. "What are you doing?" she wondered playfully.  
  
Inu-Yasha pulled her onto his back and jumped. Kikyo smiled at the wind rushing through her hair. She grabbed Inu-Yasha around the chest and held on as he jumped and soared through the forest. He was headed to the village. About halfway there, Kikyo stopped him. "Inu-Yasha, wait! We should not go all the way. The villagers will see you. Why don't you drop me off somewhere nearby?"  
  
Inu-Yasha's ears perked up and he nodded. He dropped out of the sky and landed in a tree just outside of the village. She hopped off his back and landed gracefully on the ground. Inu-Yasha followed. Unbeknownst to the two, Kaede was watching as they dropped to the ground. She had been out looking for her sister, when she had seen the two land in the tree. Inu- Yasha didn't seem to notice Keade's scent, if he did, he was ignoring it. Kikyo gave Inu-Yasha a hug. "Thank you Inu-Yasha." She then reached up and grabbed his ears once more. She rubbed them, Inu-Yasha growling contentedly. He smiled and opened his eyes as she took her hands away and then disappeared into the forest, already anticipating the next day's events. He was ready to spend the rest of his life with her. And he knew she was ready to do the same with him.  
  
Keade smiled as she went to meet her sister. _They really love each other. I still cannot say I like the fact that she is going to be the wife of a half demon, but It is not my decision to make. She is free to love who she wants. I will be glad to see those two happy._

* * *

Kittychan: Well, welcome back. I expect you had a pleasant time here at Love's Betrayal? Thank you for driving Kinochan airlines.

Hinochan: Watch that first step! It's a looloo! Come back and see us for chapter six!

Inu-Yasha: Can you see our position? We need to get out of here for sanity's sake!

Kagome: Sent in the firefighters, the police, the looney bin, the SWAT team! Anyone to get us outta here!


	6. Love's Betrayal

Hinochan: Good Day to you all. We are now in the homestretch. Only a few more chapters to go! You're going to be there all the way, right? Terrific!

Kittychan: 'in British accent' Yes, we've been working on this story for quite a while now, and we're... very proud of our work. We will continue to work on many other stories, but for now, we're happy with where we are.

Inu-Yasha: 'whispering to Kagome' They're up to something. We need to escape.

Kagome: Yeah. You create a temporary distraction while I make a mad dash for the window. You follow.

Inu-Yasha: Got it.

Hinochan: Before you continue with the story, Kittychan and I would like to let you all know that we do not own any of the Inu-Yasha characters and they are property of Sunrise.

Kittychan: Yes. So, please don't sue us. We're just cute widdle kittens that don't have anyfing of valoo.

Inu-Yasha: 'whispering' Cute is one way of putting it.

* * *

Kikyo entered the shrine and carefully took the Jewel from its resting place. She quickly hid it in her robe as she ran out of the shrine. Kenshi was slowly walking up when she came out. "Mistress Kikyo!" he cried, breaking into a run.  
  
"Kenshi!" she smiled at him. "Ohayo!"  
  
"Ohayo! You wanted me to guard the Jewel for a few hours?" he asked to be sure.  
  
"Yes. I have something I need to do. I will see you when the sun reaches its zenith." She said turning to walk away.  
  
"Hai!"  
  
Inu-Yasha woke at the light of the rising sun. He stood and stretched his clawed fingers before shaking slightly. He yawned broadly and was about to go meet Kikyo when an unfamiliar and clearly unwelcome scent reached his nose. He turned around and looked for the source. However, none could be found. His dog-like ears twitched, picking up the sound of the slightest movement. His keen orange eyes sweeping the trees and ground for any dark form. He relaxed as nothing came at him. He dismissed it as a passing animal, when something swooped down upon him and pinned him to the ground. Whatever-it-was was straddling his stomach... and it was heavy. He looked up to see a fairly large demon bearing down on him, however, unlike most of the demons he had come into contact with, this one was female! She was tall and disgustingly thin with a deathly pale face. Inu-Yasha had to say that she was one of the most ugly things he had ever come into contact with.  
  
"Where are you going, Inu-Yasha?" she asked in what Inu-Yasha had to guess was her husky voice. It was high pitched and almost reflected the screech of a crow demon.  
  
"None of your beeswax. Will you get off me?!?" he yelled, trying to get up. However, there seemed to be something more than just her holding him down. But what? "What is your problem whatever you've got holding me down, get it off! I've got to meet someone. And believe me, if you make me late for this, I'll make sure you regret ever meeting me!!!" he screamed, squirming under her.  
  
She rested her elbow on his chest and put her head in that hand. She took one wiry finger and twirled a few circled on his chest. "Oh, now you're no fun. Well, sorry to break it to you, Sweety, but I'm canceling your date with Kikyo."  
  
Inu-Yasha's eyes widened. She knew about Kikyo? "I swear, if you do anything to her...!"  
  
"Why would I do anything to hurt her? I have no intrest in her." She mused, not moving her elbow.  
  
"Then why bring her up?"  
  
"Because, I've been watching you. I know about you and that dumb priestess. I just want to have a bit of fun, too!" she said.  
  
_She is really freakin' me out. Now what? Kikyo's going to think I stood her up if she doesn't get off of me soon._ Inu-Yasha writhed around with all of his might. Eventually, he dumped her off and continued to strain against whatever was still binding him. The girl stood and gave him a pouty look that made her ugly face, if possible, even uglier. _Oh, man! If looks could kill...  
_  
"Why don't you like me? I made my hair all pretty for you, and now look! You messed it up! You're mean!" she said, stroking her hair as if it were a pet.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked at her as if she had two heads. _What is wrong with her? She's acting like some kind of mentally disturbed human!_ He strained against the binds with all of his might, but nothing he did seemed to work. "LET... ME... GO!!!!!" he screamed.  
  
The demon looked at him and stuck out her lower lip. "Why, you cute little doggy? I'm gonna keep you forever, and I'll hold you and sqeeze you and take you for walks, and we'll be happy forever! Yay!!" she walked up to where his head was and grabbed one ear. "Look at these. Aren't these just adorable!" She preceded to grab his other ear and tweaked them both over and over again. Inu-Yasha let out a deep and angry growl.  
  
"Will you let go of my ears?!" he growled dangerously.  
  
"But they're soooooo cuuuuuute!" she squealed like a little child. She suddenly stopped. _That is enough, Nikui. You needn't continue. It is done._ Nikui put on another pouty face and stood. "And we were having so much fun. Well, I regret to say that I have to go. Bye!" she called as she disappeared.  
  
Inu-Yasha stared after her, a look of utter confusion and embarrassment painted on his dog-like face. _Well, that wasn't normal._ He thought. He scratched his head in confusion and then realized something. He'd come untied! "Well, now that that's over. I guess it's time to go meet Kikyo. Strange."  
  
Kikyo walked up onto the grassy hill and looked around. She pulled the jewel from her robes and looked at it for a brief moment before looking back at the empty hill. Nothing.  
  
_He'd better not stand me up. If he does I'll kill him._ She thought, annoyed. She was about to call Inu-Yasha's name when something caught the edge of her senses. She began to turn around, but didn't make it as something sharp slashed across her shoulder and down her back. She gasped. There was no screaming in pain now. This was beyond pain. She had never felt anything like this before. The shoulder that had been cut was the one that was holding the jewel. She hit the hard ground and reached for the jewel. _Inu-Yasha... please! I need your help! This demon has wounded me, and it will steal the jewel if someone does not stop it!!  
_  
Kikyo looked up. Just as her fingers were closing around the jewel, a foot slammed down on her hand. She gasped and stared at the pant leg that she could see. Red. _No! It couldn't be!!_ Her assumptions were confirmed as a familiar voice reached her ears.  
  
"Fool! I have absolutely no wish to become human!!" it cried. _Inu-Yasha!!!! No! I was so sure he loved me! That... that traitor!!_ His voice was unlike she had ever heard it. It was rough, and had no warmth to it. Far from it. It had more of an evil tint in it than she had ever heard in any demon or human. Inu-Yasha stooped and picked up the jewel, not letting Kikyo see his eyes. When he straightened, he spoke again, sending shivers of anger down her spine. "The Sacred Jewel... I sure appreciate this. This Jewel... it needs to absorb more bitterness and ill will." He turned and began walking away, leaving Kikyo lying in the grass that was quickly being dyed red from her blood. "Those villagers... I'll kill them all." were his last words.  
  
Kikyo couldn't believe what she was hearing. Inu-Yasha had been tricking her all along. He didn't love her!! He hated her enough to try and slaughter her!!! She closed her eyes in pure fury. "You... I HATE YOU!!!!" she screamed with all her might. She gripped her shoulder and picked herself from the ground. She took her now bloody hand off her shoulder and grasped the bow and arrows she had dropped. She strapped the quiver to her back, not even wincing at the pain that shot through her entire body. _I swear on my own life that I will see you dead before I pass on, Inu-Yasha. I will see you dead for betraying me!_ Kikyo ran off with all her strength, dashing in the direction of the village.  
  
Kikyo ran into Kenshi about half way back to the village. "Kikyo-sama! I heard you scream!! What is wrong?" he cried. Kikyo turned so that he could not see the wound on her shoulder.  
  
"Do not worry. Kenshi, I want you to gather the men of the village. Take a net and capture Inu-Yasha, the half breed demon! Once you catch him, call to me and I will slaughter him for taking the jewel." Kikyo replied before once again taking off. This time, however, she ran into the forest, so that if he tried to escape, he wouldn't get past her. As she turned, she shouted a warning message to Kenshi. "He is headed for the village! Be sure to be on your guard!!"  
  
Kenshi nodded. "Yes, Kikyo-sama!" He took off to warn the villagers.  
  
Inu-Yasha rubbed his head where it had contacted the ground when the girl had tackled him. _Good thing I'll have the jewel. Then I won't have to worry about things like that ever happening again._ He headed toward the grassy hill where he was to meet Kikyo. He took it slow, just walking, pondering how many ways this was to change his life.  
  
THACK THACK THACK!!! Inu-Yasha stared at the three arrows imbedded in the tree in front of him. They were meant for him. He turned to see who would dare attack him in the middle of nowhere. He met the angry, rageful, brown eyes of Kikyo. She held another arrow fitted to her bow, ready to slay the hanyou. Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Die, Inu-Yasha!!" she yelled as she prepared to launch another arrow at him.  
  
"Kikyo! What are you doing?!" he yelled.  
  
Kikyo gave no answer, but to fire another arrow at him. Inu-Yasha could feel anger bubbling up inside him. _She took advantage of me just like everyone else! How could she?!? How could I have let myself be drawn in and tricked like that? I was such a fool to think that she was different from everyone else!! I'll show her!_ Inu-Yasha took off in the direction of the village, angry beyond anything he had ever felt before.  
  
He ran and ran, coming closer and closer to the village. He could almost see the village. His body was jerked out of the air when a thick rope wrapped around his wrist. He made hard contact with the ground, and lay there on his stomach, stunned. The rope on his wrist was soon followed by ones wrapped around his other arm, his ankles, his waist and one around his neck. His hands were yanked behind his back, and his legs drawn together where they were tied. Inu-Yasha growled loudly and jerked his body back and forth, trying to rid himself of the binds. None of them budged. A net was thrown over him and some of the men jumped on his body to keep him from moving. One jumped on his back and held his face to the ground. Inu-Yasha opened his eyes as a voice screamed at the men to stop.  
  
"What are you doing?! Get away from him!!" it shouted.  
  
_Kikyo? No, it couldn't be! She tried to slay me! Besides, it's too young. That couldn't be.. her younger sister?  
_  
Kaede entered the area where Inu-Yasha was being held. She gasped at him. "What are you doing?! Get off of him!" she yelled, running and trying to move the one on his back off. "Kenshi! Get off!"  
  
Kenshi did so, and stood. He looked down at Inu-Yasha before grabbing the rope attached to his neck and roughly pulling on it. Inu-Yasha's head was forced up to look at Kaede. "Kaede-sama, I'll do no such thing as letting this monster go. He is half demon! Inu-Yasha must be slaughtered to keep the Sacred Jewel safe. The order to restrain him until she could finish him off was given by Mistress Kikyo herself to me. Personally. I cannot take orders from you."  
  
Kaede froze. "Kikyo... gave... the order?" she stammered.  
  
"Yes. Apparently he had attacked her to obtain the jewel and must be stopped." He answered.  
  
"What?! Attacked her?! Why you Yarou! I did nothing of the sort!! I haven't even seen-" Inu-Yasha was cut off as Kenshi yanked on the rope, choking the words back.  
  
Kaede looked mournfully at Inu-Yasha. "You... you broke her heart. How could you have done such a thing?" she said slowly and quietly.  
  
Inu-Yasha opened one pain-filled eye to look at her. Kaede's eyes were filling with tears. Inu-Yasha tried to defend himself. "What is going on? I haven't even seen her this morning except for when she shot at me! How could I have-?" Inu-Yasha was once again cut off by Kenshi yanking on the cord.  
  
"Shut your horrible lies up, beast." Kenshi growled.  
  
"Leave him to me." Came a feminine voice from behind the group. All heads turned to see Kikyo standing nearby, tears in her brown eyes. She motioned to the men. "Go back to the village. I will deal with this half-man myself."  
  
"Hai!" the men turned and ran back to the village. Kaede, however, remained.  
  
Kaede spoke softly as Kikyo drew an arrow to her bow and pointed it at Inu- Yasha's head. "Sister... what happened? Why are you attacking him?"  
  
Kikyo ignored Kaede. She stared at Inu-Yasha. His eyes. Those eyes she had fallen in love with. The eyes that she so often fell into. It had all gone wrong when he had let his desire for the jewel get the better of him. _The beast. The heartless beast._ Kikyo stood, the arrow fitted to her bow, staring at Inu-Yasha. His eyes were filled with confusion, hurt, anger, sadness. All mixed into one pool of orange. All pooling into one emotion. Hate. He hated what she was doing to him, but at the same time, he still loved her with everything he was. Kikyo did not see this though. Her hate for him was so strong, it blocked out everything else. An all consuming hatred. She sat there for what seemed to Inu-Yasha to be an eternity.  
  
_Why can't I finish him? I must kill him, so why am I holding back? He has betrayed me and taken the Sacred Jewel. It is my emotions. My hatred cannot banish the love I once felt.  
_  
Inu-Yasha smirked smugly. "If you're not going to do me in, I'll be taking my leave!" he jumped up and curled into a ball, preparing to cut open the net, listening to the screams of the village below.  
  
"IT'S INU-YASHA!!!" Panic ensued on the ground below as men and women retreated into their homes or grabbed spears to throw them at him. Inu- Yasha ripped the net apart, evaded all their attempts to capture him and plunged his body into the small shrine. He looked up to see the small jewel sparkling in all its glory, hanging from a necklace made of string and stone. He grabbed it and turned to run. But the exit was blocked by many men holding spears and ropes. They launched the spears at him, hitting some of the torches in the shrine, causing them to fall and light the shrine on fire.  
  
Inu-Yasha jumped out the roof as the small building exploded in a burst of fire and smoke. He laughed. "That'll teach you!" He twirled in the air as he gloated in his victory. He held the jewel up to his face, admiring his prize. "With this in my possession, I can become a real demon! Hah!" Inu- Yasha landed on a bridge, ran the length of it, then once again sent himself sailing through the air, in the direction of the trees. A voice cut through the forest and reached his dog ears.  
  
"Inu-Yasha!!" it screamed.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked at where he was. He recognized the voice to be that of Kikyo. He didn't care. She could die for all he cared. However, his wish was not to come true just yet. Inu-Yasha felt a splitting pain in his chest. It went through his chest, out his back and into the tree that he was passing. He wined in pain, but then gasped as he saw the Sacred Shikon Jewel, the thing he had coveted for so long, fall from his grasp. He looked up to see Kikyo standing with a bow in her hand. An empty bow, the string still vibrating from the arrow she used to pierce his chest.  
  
Inu-Yasha stared at her, anger and pain filling his eyes. "Ki...Kikyo." He managed to get out. He held out his hand as if the scratch her. "Why... you...!" Inu-Yasha trailed off as sleep began to overtake him. The eternal sleep of death. Just before his conscious left him, a scent caught his nose. _Where am I? I recognize this scent! It's the scent of our tree! She pinned me to the very tree that we shared our first kiss. She... pinned... me to the... tree...  
_  
Kikyo stumbled toward the fallen Jewel. Blood dropping to the ground in her wake. She dropped to her knee as Kaede and a group of villagers approached. Kaede knelt next to her.  
  
"Onesama!!" she shouted in anguish and fear.  
  
A murmur passed amongst the group that now surrounded her. "Lady Kikyo!" "Kikyo-sama!" "She's badly wounded."  
  
Kaede suddenly spotted the blood covering her sister's right side. "Onesama! How did you get hurt?!"  
  
Kikyo picked up the Jewel and looked at it in a sense of sorrow. "My cowardliness... has resulted in this." Kikyo could feel death beckoning her body, and she knew she'd be joining Inu-Yasha soon. "And all for this... 'Jewel of the Four Souls.'"  
  
Kaede put a hand on her sister's uninjured shoulder. "Sister, we must tend to your injury!" she cried, tears beginning to appear in her eyes.  
  
Kikyo slightly shook her head. "I am beyond saving. So, listen to me Kaede." she turned to her younger sister and held out the jewel in her shaking, weakening hand. "Take the Sacred Jewel... and burn it with my body." The words were getting harder to say now. Her voice was getting caught up in her throat. She managed to continue, trying to communicate a sense of strength in her voice, with little result. "It must never get into the hands of evil-doers! The Sacred Jewel. I will take it with me to the other world." With that said, Kikyo breathed her last breath and her soulless body slumped to the ground. Kaede screaming in anguish as she did.  
  
"Onesama! ONESAMA!!!!" Kaede did not hold back the tears as she mourned the death of her beloved, only older sister. One of the men from the village picked up Kikyo's lifeless body and carried it away to be burned that night. Kenshi stooped to help Kaede to her feet, but she pushed him away. "I will be along. I want to be alone for now." She choked out through her tears.  
  
"Yes, high priestess Kaede." he said bowing deeply before leaving.  
  
Kaede wrapped her arms around her torso and cried for what seemed to be hours. Finally, she looked up. The only thing she saw was the horrid picture of Inu-Yasha, hanging limply from the arrow stuck through his chest. She stood and narrowed her eyes at him. She kicked the tree where he was hanging. "How could you have done this to her? She loved you. You said you loved her. So why? How? How can you just turn traitor on someone?" Tears sprinted down her face. She was unashamed of her grieving, but ashamed that she had allowed her sister to get so close to this creature.  
  
Kaede was about to leave when she heard Inu-Yasha's last words before the sleep of death took him. She turned to see his pupilless, glazed over eyes open. "Ki... Ki... Kikyo." His eyes closed for the last time.  
  
Kaede looked up at him. "What happened? How could this fairy tale go so wrong? You were going to be so happy."  
  
That night, Kikyo's body was burned. The Jewel nestled in her cold lifeless hands, never to be used again. Hopefully.

* * *

Kittychan: There is nothing left to write here, because we sat around all day watching Inu-Yasha. So, if you're good, we will come around again for the last chapter. Bye!


	7. Epilogue

Kittychan: Well, this is the last chapter! Sorry, but... all good things come to an end.

Hinochan: Yes. 'Tis true. But it was fun while it lasted. Oh, Kittychan, one last time for the record.

Kittychan: Oh yes. AHEM! ' joined by Hinochan' Hark, the herald angels sing, GLORY TO THE NEW BORN KING!!!! We don't own anyy of the Inu-Yasha characters!!

Hinochan: 'sighs' Well, that was refreshing. Wouldn't you say, Inu-yasha?

...

Kittychan: Inu-Yasha? Kagome? Where are they?

* * *

Kaede picked up three sticks and a log from the forest of Inu-Yasha. She was collecting firewood for her hut. She passed by the infamous tree as she picked up another log. She looked up to see the hanyou sleeping. Still sleeping. The feathers on the arrow that was sticking out of his chest were beginning to wilt, but it would not come undone. Kikyo had made that spell to last for eternity. Kaede stared at his face for a long while. Now in her twenties as Kikyo had been when she fell in love with the half breed, Kaede saw what Kikyo did in his looks. He looked so innocent, lying there, completely defensless, the roots of the tree beginning to wrap around his still form.  
  
Kaede walked up to the tree and gave it a slight kick. A tribute to the creature that hung from it. _Already, many years have passed since then. Many people do not consider him such a wonder anymore. Very few, but some other half demons have lived and passed. However, he always seems a wonder to me. For he was my sister's only and first love. How that all turned sour is something I can not comprehend. That beast betrayed my sister, and now he is paying the price for his heinous act._ Kaede stuck her nose in the air and walked away with her firewood.  
  
_She's here! I can smell it! The woman who killed me! She's here! You're going to pay for what you've done to me. You will pay dearly!  
_  
"Someone help me!!!" the cry shot through the forest like a bullet and reached the ears of the creature.  
  
"I can smell it. The scent of the woman who killed me. It's approaching." He reached up and was about to pull the offending object from his body, but it glowed a lavender light, repelling his hand away from it. _K'so!_ The boy watched as a girl with black hair fell to the ground in front of him. He smirked.  
  
"Hey, Kikyo!!"

* * *

Inu-Yasha: 'Kittychan and Hinochan have left and the room is empty, Inu-Yasha and Kagome creep in' Well, looks like the coast is clear! That's all they wrote folks! Bye!

Kagome: Looks like we're safe.

Kittychan and Hinochan: 'jump from under couches' That's what you think!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Inu-Yasha and Kagome: AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!


End file.
